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D MISSIONS 
M ANTONIO 



OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 




NEVADA FALLS, YOSEMITE VALLEY 



Our American 
Wonderlands 



''y 



George Wharton James 

Author of . 

The Grand Canyonof Arizona' TheWonders of 
the Colorado Desert,"Etc,£tc. 



IJJustrsited from Photographs 








CHica-^o 

A. C. McClurg & Co. 

1^15 



tr 






Copyright 

Edith E. Farnsworth 

1915 



Published November, 1915 



W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANy, CHICAGO 

DEC -2 1915 

©C1.A414857 



FOREWORD 

Few Americans know their own land even in a cursory 
way. The Alps are not to be known by railway travelers, 
nor can the Sierras be studied " from a car-window." 
With its two thousand years or more of culture and mate- 
rial progress there are many parts of Europe that can 
be seen only by those who are willing to leave the beaten 
tracks. Many of the trails of the United States are still 
fresh and newly-trodden, yet the wonders and marvels 
they reach are far beyond what the Old World has to 
offer. In everything, save the products of man's industry, 
genius, and energy, this country affords far more to see 
than does Europe. Our " Wonderlands " are more start- 
ling, more varied, more alluring, more attractive. 

Hence, while the war now raging between the great civil- 
ized nations of Europe is to be deplored, it will serve one 
good purpose, at least, if it leads Americans to a keener, 
truer patriotism, manifested in a desire to see and better 
know their own country. He is no true American — from 
my standpoint — who will seize every opportunity to cross 
the Atlantic before he has crossed the prairies, the Rockies, 
the sage-brush deserts, and the Sierras of his own land. 
Once let Americans know and exalt the glories of Amer- 
ican scenery as they do those of European scenery, and 
the United States will begin to take its proper and appointed 
place among the countries of the world as the possessor 
of many gifts and most wonderful allurements. 



FOREWORD 

In the following pages I have sought, briefly and vividly, 
without entering into too much detail, to give the reader 
living glimpses of what America offers of antiquarian, 
scenic, geologic, and ethnologic interest. The cliff dwell- 
ings of Colorado and Arizona are just as fascinating as the 
castles of the Rhine, when one comprehends their story; 
the Hopis, Havasupais, Apaches, and Navahos are more 
picturesque than the Swiss, Irish, Servian, or Russian peas- 
ants, and their social and religious ceremonies far more 
wonderful and fascinating; the Natural Bridges of Utah, 
the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, the Grand Canyon, the 
Petrified Forest, the Canyon de Chelly, Havasu Canyon, 
the Yosemite Valley, the Yellowstone and a hundred other 
scenic glories of our Western World far surpass in variety 
and marvel anything Europe has to offer. 

The Colorado and Mohave Deserts, the High Sierras, 
the Channel Islands of California, Lake Tahoe and its 
glacial surroundings, are equally fascinating as their coun- 
terparts in the Old World, and the glaciers of the Alps are 
not more wonderful and alluring than those of the Glacier 
National Park of Montana, and the Cascade and other 
western ranges. 

It by no means reflects credit on our citizens that, when 
they are questioned in Europe " I suppose, of course, you 
know the Yosemite, the Petrified Forest, the Grand Can- 
yon, the Hopi Villages, Meteorite Mountain, the Roose- 
velt Dam, the Yellowstone Park, Glacier National Park, 
the Mammoth Cave, the Great Bridges of Utah, the Cliff 
Dwellings, Canyon de Chelly, etc., etc.," they are compelled 
to answer, "No! I have seen none of them — or, at best, 
only the ones that are reached easiest by railroad." 



FOREWORD 

To excite interest in these wonderlands of our own 
country is my avowed purpose, with the deliberate intent 
of making the slogan See America First a potent one in 
active and daily operation in the minds of all intelligent 
Americans. To increase travel in these directions will be 
my reward, for thus I know I shall add largely to the 
measure of satisfaction enjoyed by my fellow-citizens in 
the increased knowledge of their own great and wonderful 
land. 




Pasadena, California, ipij. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Grand Canyon of Arizona .... i 
II Old Taos and the Flagellantes ii 

III The Prehistoric CHff- and Cave-DwelHngs of 

the Southwest 20 

IV To Betatakin and Kitsiel 38 

V The CHff-Dwellings of the Mesa Verde . . 60 

VI Old Santa Fe and the Land of the Delight 

Makers 67 

VII Canyon de Chelly, Del Muerto and Monu- 
ment Canyons, and Their Ruins .... 76 

VIII The Navahos and Their Remarkable Fire 

Dance 87 

IX The Terraced Houses of the Rio Grande . 95 

X By the Enchanted Mesa to the City of the 

Sky loi 

XI Over the Painted Desert to the Hopi Snake 

Dance 115 

XII Over the Lava Fields to the "Seven Cities of 

Cibola" 136 

XIII Meteorite Mountain and Sunset Crater . . 145 

XIV Over the Apache Trail to the Roosevelt Dam 150 

XV The Canyon of Cataracts, and the Havasupai 

Indians 158 

XVI The Petrified Forests of Arizona .... 167 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 
XVII 

XVIII 
XIX 

XX 

XXI 

XXII 

XXIII 

XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 

XXVII 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXX 

XXXI 



PAGE 

The Lure of the Arizona Deserts .... 172 

The Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah . . 182 

The Garden of the Gods and Monument 

Park 190 

The Old Franciscan Missions of New Mex- 
ico, Arizona, and Texas 196 

The Yellowstone National Park .... 203 

On the Roof of the Continent — The Glacier 

National Park, Montana 214 

Rainier National Park 221 

Crater Lake, Oregon 227 

The Yosemite Valley 234 

The Big Trees of California 241 

The Lake of the Sky — Lake Tahoe . . . 249 

The Channel Islands of California . . . 259 

The Natural Bridge of Virginia .... 265 

The Mammoth Cave of Kentucky . . . 2^2 

Incomparable Niagara 283 

Index 293 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Nevada Falls Frontispiece ; 

The Grand Canyon, plateau view 2 

Northwest from Hopi Point 3 

Hermit Camp 4 

Jacob's Ladder 5 

Grand Canyon from Hotel El Tovar 8 

Hermit's Rest 9, 

Taos pueblo 12 , 

Old Spanish fort near Taos 12 

Church procession at Taos 13 

Penitente "morada" (church) with crosses ..... 13 

Taos pueblo, showing "kiva" 141^ 

Ruins of old church at Taos i^^ 

The San Francisco Mountains 34 • 

Cliff-dwellings near Flagstaff 35^ 

Over the Arizona desert to Betatakin and Kitsiel ... 46 ' 

The Arizona desert 46'' 

Cliff city of Betatakin 47*'' 

Another view of Betatakin 47"" 

Two views of Kitsiel 58 ^ 

Cliff-dwellings, Mesa Verde National Park 62^' 

The Balcony House 6^<y 

Ruins of Tyuonyi 70"^ 

Ruins of Puye 71 

Cave-dwelling ruins at Puye 71 

Mummy Cave 78 "^ 

The White House ygv^ 

Canyon de Chelly Monument 86- 

Canyon de Chelly, looking east 87 - 

Navaho blanket weaving 88 ■^ 

A Navaho summer hogan 89 i-^ 

Navaho fire dance 92 '■ 

Corral in which fire dance is held 92 - 

Navaho types 93 v 

Indian pueblo of Santa Clara 98 v'' 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

San Ildefonso qq / 

Pueblo funeral procession 

Indian pueblo of Laguna 

Street in the pueblo of Acoma 

The Enchanted Mesa 

Drifted sand, Acoma 

The Rock of Acoma 

Wall of defense 

Hopi pueblo of Walpi 

Archway in Hopi pueblo 

Hopi pueblo of Oraibi 

Moki snake dance 

Antelope priests at Walpi 

The trail to Walpi 

In the "kiva" 

Lava "necks," or "heads" 

Lava "neck" 

Plaza in the pueblo of Zuni 

Zuni Indians making bead necklaces 

Meteorite Mountain 

Mesa overlooking lava fields 

Roosevelt Dam 

On the road to Roosevelt Dam 

On the road to Roosevelt Dam 

Arizona desert near Phoenix 

Near Fish Creek Hill 

The Havasu 

Moonev Falls 

BridalVeil Falls 

The Wallapai trail to Havasu Canyon 

Pagatocoba's hawa 

The Petrified Bridge 

The Petrified Forest 

The Petrified Forest 

The desert country 

The desert country 

The San Pedro Valley 

Nonnezoshie Natural Bridge 

Edwin Natural Bridge 

Augusta Natural Bridge 

Indian picture writing 

Indian picture writing 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Rock formations 187 

Rock formations 187- 

Gateway to the Garden of the Gods 190 -^ 

Cathedral Spires 191 "^ 

In Monument Park 1941^ 

In Monument Park 194*^ 

San Xavier Mission 198"^ 

San Jose de Tumacacori Mission 198^'^ 

Espada Mission I99^ 

San Jose Mission 199'/' 

The Alamo 200 >/ 

Doorway, San Jose Mission 201"^ 

Dome Geyser 204-^ 

Punch Bowl Spring 204^ 

Pulpit Terrace 205. 

Jupiter Terrace 205- 

Tower Falls 206'^ 

Old Faithful Geyser 2071^ 

Grotto Geyser 210 

Cleopatra Terrace 210 

Silver Cord Cascades 211 

Canyon at Tower Falls 212 ^ 

Grand Canyon and Great Fall of the Yellowstone . . . 2131^ 

Climbing Blackfeet Glacier 216' 

Mount Jackson 217- 

Waterfall. Glacier National Park 218. 

Blackfeet Glacier 218 '■' 

Iceberg Lake 219 

Lake McDermott 219 - 

Entrance to Rainier National Park 222 <^ 

"Snout" of Nisqually Glacier 223 '■'' 

Near view of Nisqually's "Snout" 2241 

Mirror Lake 225 1 

Crater Lake 232 u 

Crater Lake, Wizard Island 232 j' 

Crater Lake 233 • 

Entrance to Yosemite Valley 234 

El Capitan 235 

Overhanging Rock 236 

The Yosemite Falls 236 ■ ' 

Cathedral Spires 236 

High Sierra in Yosemite National Park 2^^ . ' 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Looking down into the Yosemite from the rear of Half 

Dome 238 ^ 

North Dome 239' 

At the foot of a Sequoia gigantea 240 ' 

The Grizzly Giant 241 ^ 

A cluster of Sequoias in Muir Woods 246 ' 

Comparison of one of California's big trees with a church 247 ' 

Carnelian Bay . . . .• 250- 

Cave Rock 254^ 

Looking north from Cave Rock 255 ' 

Rubicon Point : . 255 ' 

Coast line near Avalon • • • 260" 

Arch Rock 261 * 

The Natural Bridge of Virginia 266 «^' 

Icicle formation 272 ^ 

Standing Rocks 272 v 

Pillars of Elephantis 27:^ '-^ 

Elephants' Heads 276 '''^ 

The Throne 277-^ 

Bottomless Pit 277^ 

The American Fall 284/ 

The Horseshoe Fall 284 ^^ 

Whirlpool Rapids 285 . 

Prospect Park in winter 285 > 



OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 



OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

CHAPTER I 
THE GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 

AS THERE is but one Niagara, one Yosemite, one 
Lake Tahoe, one Yellowstone, so there is but one 
Grand Canyon. While the name has often been applied 
to lesser gorges, it is a sacrilege that should not be tolerated 
as an act of lese majesty against the one supreme gorge of the 
known world. Supreme, indeed, it is, in size — width, depth, 
and length — in infinite variety of sculptured forms and 
their dimensions, in the gamut of color revealed, in the 
geological strata exposed, in the problems involved, and 
in the vastness of the great river which, working through 
the patient ages, has been the chief instrument of its manu- 
facture, and now angrily, sullenly, noisily, sometimes 
quietly, at others thunderingly and blusteringly, dashes on 
its way to the far-away open desert, and later to the open 
sea. 

There are writers who have sought to compare the 
Grand Canyon with other objects of natural scenery; but 
this is only to aid the imagination of those who yet have 
the pleasure before them of making its acquaintance. You 
cannot compare things of such difTerences. John Muir once 
wrote illuminatingly on this subject. He said : 

It is impossible to conceive what the Canyon is, or what im- 
pression it makes, from the descriptions or pictures, however 



2 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

good. Naturally it is untellable even to those who have seen 
something perhaps a little like it on a small scale in this same 
plateau region. One's most extravagant expectations are in- 
definitely surpassed, though one expects much from w^hat is 
said of it as "the biggest chasm on earth." 

So big is it that all other big things — Yosemite, the Yellow- 
stone, the Pyramids, Chicago — all would be lost if tumbled 
into it. 

Naturally enough, illustrations as to size are sought for 
among other canyons like or unlike it, with the common result 
of worse confounding confusion. The prudent keep silent. It 
was once said that the "Grand Canyon could put a dozen 
Yosemites in its vest pocket. 

The justly famous Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is, 
like that of the Colorado, gorgeously colored and abruptly 
countersunk in a plateau, and both are mainly the work of 
water. But the Colorado's Canyon is more than a thousand 
times larger, and as a score or two new buildings of ordinary 
size would not change appreciably the general view of a great 
city, so hundreds of Yellowstones might be crowded in the 
sides of the Colorado Canyon without noticeably augmenting 
its size or the richness of its sculpture. But it is not true that 
the great Yosemite rocks would be thus lost or hidden. Noth- 
ing of their kind in the world, so far as I know, rivals El Cap- 
itan and Tissiack (Half Dome), much less dwarfs or in any 
way belittles them. None of the sandstone or limestone preci- 
pices of the Canyon that I have seen or heard of approaches 
in smooth, flawless strength and grandeur the granite face of 
El Capitan or the Tenaya side of Cloud's Rest. These colossal 
cliffs, types of permanence, are about three thousand and six 
hundred feet high ; those of the Canyon that are sheer are 
about half as high, and are types of fleeting change ; while 
glorious-domed Tissiack, noblest of mountain buildings, far 
from being overshadowed or lost in this rosy, spring canyon 
company, would draw every eye, and, in serene majesty, 
"aboon them a', " she would take her place — castle, temple, 
palace, or tower. 

Every feature of nature's big face is beautiful — height, hol- 
low, wrinkle, furrow, and line — and this is the main master 




Copyright by Fred Harvey 

THE GRAND CANYON 

PLATEAU VIEW THIRTEEN HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE COLORADO 



GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 3 

furrow of its kind on our continent, incomparably greater and 
more impressive than any other yet discovered, or likely to be 
discovered, now that all the great rivers have been traced to 
their heads.* 

There are several features of the canyon that immedi- 
ately force themelves upon the attention of the observer. 
The first is the stupendous vastness of the chasm into which 
one gazes. Few people have any standard with which to 
compare it. The ordinary canyons, or ravines, into which 
one may have gazed are so puny and insignificant as not 
to count in the tremendous impression now produced. As 
one reads the account of emotions experienced in gazing 
into other depths — as, for instance, Porte Crayon's descrip- 
tion of the thrilling sensations experienced by his sisters at 
the Natural Bridge of Virginia, given in Chapter xxix, 
one realizes how utterly incompetent words are to suggest 
what one feels in the presence of this really sublime abyss. 
All the superlatives of the language have been exhausted 
on objects so insignificant as to be unobservable were they 
alongside of this great Canyon. 

Then, too, the vastness of this deep inferno is entirely 
different from the vastness of a valley that one gazes into 
from a mountain height. The actual depth may be as great 
in the latter case as the five thousand feet descent into the 
Canyon, but the valley is not shut in, is not a wild desolation 
of highly colored and picturesquely sculptured rocks. The 
two depths are entirely alike. Hence analysis shows that 
the effect of vast depth of wide extent is enhanced by the 
fact of the uniqueness of the scene. It is different in this 

* The Grand Canyon of the Colorado, in Century Magazine, 
Nov., 1902. 



4 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

regard from anything ever seen, and being on so stupendous 
a scale it overpowers, impresses, dominates to the full 
capacity of the human mind. 

Another striking feature is the bizarre and unusual sculp- 
turing and fashioning that the walls and rocks of the canyon 
have assumed. We think of the Garden of the Gods, Monu- 
ment Park, the Bad Lands, and the wonderful Land of the 
Standing Rocks, as marvels of Nature's unique sculpturing, 
yet they are insignificant when compared with the towers, 
temples, minarets, domes, walls, buttresses, gargoyles, and 
other fantastic and strange creations of the Canyon. As an 
unknown writer has graphically said : 

Hundreds of these mighty structures, miles in length and 
thousands of feet in height, rear their majestic forms out of the 
abyss, displaying their richly molded plinths and friezes, thrust- 
ing out their gables, wing walls, buttresses, and pilasters, and 
recessed with alcoves and panels. 

Nowhere in the world is such wild, grand, marvelous, 
unusual architecture as here, and on such a sublime scale 
as to dwarf into insignificance man's most ambitious 
attempts, as St. Peter's, Cologne, Milan, St. Paul's, St. 
Sophia, the Kremlin, and the like. Nor should one think 
that there is no harmony in this architecture. Each stratum 
of rock has its own characteristic forms of erosion, and 
these adapt themselves remarkably as architectural details 
of marvelous quality to the vast structures which corrosion 
and erosion have formed. 

The colors, too, are so different from what one has ever 
before experienced. Here are no soft, tender, gentle, pas- 
toral landscapes, of refined greens and alluring tones of 
brown and yellow. No. indeed ! Flaming reds, chocolates. 




Copyright by Fred Harvey 



HERMIT CAMP 

THIRTY-FIVE HUNDRED FEET BELOW THE RIM 




Cofiyriglit by Fred Har7i 



JACOB'S LADDER 

ON BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL 



GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 5 

carmines, crimsons, resplendent yellows, oranges, saffrons; 
dazzling blues, greens, and creams; glaring patches and 
streaks of white; and thunderous splotches of black, make 
up this scene. Here Nature was in her most riotous mood, 
and spilled colors broadcast from her paint pots with lavish 
hands. Bizarre, grotesque, startling, at first sight, study 
and knowledge are required to understand and enjoy them. 
The blaze and glory of them are absolutely startling. Ten 
thousand rainbows of solid rock are broken up and tossed 
higgledy-piggledy into this chasm. Walls are made of the 
same materials, a rioting chaos of color — this is what it 
seems at first sight. The eye cannot focalize anything; 
the vastness confuses; the colors dazzle; the varied forms 
of the rocky masses bewilder. 

Were this effect to persist, to continue indefinitely, the 
Grand Canyon would not please ; it would repel by its first 
impressions. But in spite of this striking forcefulness, this 
bizarre uniqueness, this grotesque personality, there is 
something that attracts, that demands further investigation, 
that forbids the eyes to turn away. Then, slowly at first, 
soon more rapidly, the forms of the walls and domes, the 
towers and colonnades, assume distinct reality, individual 
personality. The colors resolve themselves into harmoni- 
ous relationship, the chaos disappears and a very definite, 
organized cosmos takes its place. An hour, two hours, 
three, four, pass, and the visitor is still gazing, now drink- 
ing in eagerly an ever-varying panorama of form and 
color. The march of the sun makes constant change; the 
clouds float up from the everywhere into the here; atmos- 
pheric and electric effects are produced that tone down, 
soften, change, transform the scenes below, and every 



6 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

change is more wonderful and fascinating than the one 
that preceded it. 

Nothing that I know of in the thousands of the pages 
that have been written on the Grand Canyon so fully brings 
out these facts as the following written by Major Clarence 
E. Button, the poet-scientist of the West. He says : 

The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is a great innovation in 
modern ideas of scenery, and in our conceptions of the gran- 
deur, beauty, and power of Nature, as with all great innova- 
tions, it is not to be comprehended in a day or a week, nor even 
in a month. It must be dwelt upon and studied, and the study 
must comprise the slow acquisition of the meaning and spirit of 
that marvelous scenery which characterizes the Plateau Coun- 
try, and of which the great chasm is the superlative manifesta- 
tion. The study and slow mastery of the influences of that class 
of scenery and its full appreciation is a special culture, requiring 
time, patience, and long familiarity for its consummation. 

The lover of Nature, whose perceptions have been trained in 
the Alps, in Italy, Germany, or New England, in the Appa- 
lachians or Cordilleras, in Scotland or Colorado, would enter 
this strange region with a shock, and dwell there for a time 
with a sense of oppression, and perhaps with horror. Whatso- 
ever things he had learned to regard as beautiful and noble he 
would seldom or never see, and whatsoever he might see would 
appear to him as anything but beautiful and noble. Whatso- 
ever might be bold and striking would at first seem only gro- 
tesque. The colors would be the very ones he had learned to 
shun as tawdry and bizarre. The tones and shades, modest 
and tender, subdued, yet rich, in which his fancy had always 
taken especial delight, would be the ones which are conspicu- 
ously absent. 

But time would bring a gradual change. Some day he would 
suddenly become conscious that outlines which at first seemed 
harsh and trivial have grace and meaning; that forms which 
seemed grotesque are full of dignity ; that magnitudes which 
had added enormity to coarseness have become replete with 
strength and even majesty ; that colors which had been 



GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 7 

esteemed unrefined, immodest, and glaring are as expressive, 
tender, changeful, and capacious of efifects as any others. Great 
innovations, whether in art or literature, in science or in 
Nature, seldom take the world by storm. They must be under- 
stood before they can be estimated, and must be cultivated 
before they can be understood.* 

Major J- W. Powell has this to say of the Grand Can- 
yon, which presents another feature of its diverse attrac- 
tiveness : 

But form and color do not exhaust all the divine qualities 
of the Grand Canyon. It is the land of music. The river 
thunders in perpetual roar, swelling in floods of music when 
the storm gods play upon the rocks, and fading away in soft 
and low murmurs when the infinite blue of heaven is unveiled. 
With the melody of the great tide rising and falling, swelling 
and vanishing forever, other melodies are heard in the gorges 
of the lateral canyons, while the waters plunge in the rapids 
among the rocks or leap in great cataracts. Thus the Grand 
Canyon is a land of song. Mountains of music swell in the 
rivers, hills of music billow in the creeks, and meadows of 
music murmur in the rills that ripple over the rocks. Alto- 
gether it is a symphony of multitudinous melodies. All this is 
the music of waters. The adamant foundations of the earth 
have been wrought into a sublime harp upon which the clouds 
of heaven play with mighty tempests or with gentle showers.f 

There is no difHculty in reaching the Grand Canyon now- 
adays. The Santa Fe main line crosses Arizona, and at 
Williams one changes to the branch, which, in sixty-three 
miles, deposits 3^ou at El Tovar, the fine Fred Harvey hotel 
on the "rim." At the Grand Canyon one never speaks of 
the "edge;" it is always the "rim," and the south rim is 

* Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District, Government Print- 
ing Office, Washington, 1882. 

t The Scientific Explorer, in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, Santa 
Fe Passenger Dept., 1906. 



8 OVR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the first portion to be made accessible by rail. But do 
not imagine you can see the Grand Canyon by rail. No ! 
Nature cannot be treated that way, as yet, in her more 
magnificent and stupendous retreats. Of course, you can 
get one taste, one touch, one glimpse, one feel, and to some 
people that is enough. But if you really want to see it and 
know something about it, you must at least ride on its 
rim for a few miles, in each direction from El Tovar, and 
then descend one of the well-constructed trails down to the 
river; and, better still, steal the time to go down one trail, 
ride in the Canyon's heart to another, camping out by the 
side of the rapids of the ever-roaring river, or on the 
level stretches of one of the plateaus, then cross the river 
to the other side, ascend to the great Kaibab Plateau and 
ride through its superb pine forest to Point Sublime, the 
finest point in the whole Canyon system on the north rim, 
ere you return. It is not a hard trip to one used to horse- 
back riding and camping out, but of course the "de luxe" 
traveler had better remain in the "flowery beds of ease" 
provided by Fred Harvey in connection with El Tovar. 

The Grand Canyon is not a mere object of scenery; it 
is a vast drainage system, covering thousands of square 
miles of territory, and embracing within its natural area 
large parts of the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, 
Nevada, Arizona, California, and even New Mexico. Few, 
even of the most intelligent of its casual visitors, ever get 
it through their heads that if all its tributary canyons were 
placed in a straight line they would come within less than 
5,000 miles of encircling the globe. For there are nearly 
3.000 miles of canyon in the upper reaches of the Colo- 
rado, and its great tributaries, or forks, the Grand and the 



GRAND CANYON OF ARIZONA 9 

Green, ere the two hundred and seventeen-mile stretch, called 
in distinctiveness Tlie Grand Canyon, is reached. And 
into almost every mile of this 3,000 miles, on each side, 
other canyons are lined, seamed, or troughed, in endless 
variety and never-ceasing sublimity. Canyon of Desola- 
tion, Lodore, Split Mountain, Flaming Gorge, Glen, Marble, 
are the names of a few of the principal ones, before reach- 
ing the entering canyon of the Little Colorado, which 
denotes the commencement of the Grand Canyon. This is 
some fifty or sixty miles east of El Tovar, and makes a 
great wagon and horseback ride for the adventurous who 
do not call the "pleasures" of camping out a "hardship." 

While others had seen portions of the. Grand Canyon 
and its tributaries, it was left for that "one-armed hero of 
Gettysburg," Major John Wesley Powell, first to fully 
describe its wonders. In 1869, 1870, and 1871 he and a 
band of large-souled adventurers set forth to explore its 
hidden mysteries and ride its waters from Green River, 
Wyoming, down to the Gulf; or, at least, to the Colorado 
Desert. The records of this trip were first given to the 
world in Scribner's Magazine, and later in government 
reports and books, and Dellenbaugh's Romance of the Colo- 
rado River. The story is thrilling in the extreme, and 
should form the theme of a lesson in American history, 
geography, geology, exploration, and heroism for every 
child in our schools — North, South, East, and West. 

In my own two books, In and Around the Grand Canyon, 
and The Grand Canyon of Ari::ona, I have done my best 
to make its wonders, allurements, and rare marvels known. 
Everybody that has ever seen it knows it cannot be de- 
scribed, and then spends page after page in demonstrating 



10 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

that it cannot. The pen of a Ruskin, Carlyle, Dante, 
Goethe, Mihon, or Shakspere would here fail, and the 
canvas of a Rembrandt, a Velasquez, a Turner, merely 
convey a faint impression of its sublimity and majesty in 
architecture and color. Hence there is but one thing left 
for the sensible American to do — that is to visit it. And 
when you do, be sure to plan for plenty of time. Don't 
be in a hurry. It took God and his army of natural forces 
hundreds of thousands of years to make it. Surely you 
can spend a few days to look at it — wandering on its rim, 
peering into its depths, riding into them — and thus begin 
to comprehend some of the vast workings of the Almighty 
Mind. 



CHAPTER II 

OLD TAOS AND THE FLAGELLANTES 

ARE you traveling to the Pacific Coast from the 
^ Middle West, North, or East? Why not go leisurely 
and see all you can on the way? There are a score, or 
more, of places that will wonderfully pay you, and none 
more so than Taos (not Tay-os, Teh-os, Tay-oos, or 
Teh-us, but, as if it rhymed with house, say Towse, in one 
syllable), redolent of memories of Indians, of the great 
Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, of the uprising of Mexicans and 
Indians after the country was annexed by the United 
States, when Governor Bent was murdered, of Kit Carson 
and hosts of other interesting events and personalities. 

It is an old Indian pueblo in New Mexico, the northern- 
most of all the "pueblos," or villages, of the Indians of 
the Rio Grande, its several-storied, high-terraced houses 
familiar to many travelers. Yet most Indian villages are 
" close corporations," conducted with a secrecy and resent- 
ment of intrusion that Wall Street has never surpassed. 

But it is not of the Indians and their religious and social 
life, however mysterious and fascinating, that this chapter 
is to deal. Three miles from the Indian village is the later- 
founded Spanish or Mexican town, of San Fernando de 
Taos. This was the home of Governor Bent, the first 
United States governor of New Mexico. Here lived Chris- 
topher Carson, the redoubtable Kit, guide and scout for 

11 



12 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the pathfinder Fremont, and fully as great a man in his 
way as was the more refined and cultured Fremont in his. 
Here stood formerly one of the historic churches of New 
Mexico, now gone, however, in the rage for a modernism 
that has no appreciation for the picturesqueness of the old. 
Here, too, is located today a modern school of American 
painters — Phillips, Sharp, and the rest — seeking to catch 
and put on canvas before it is too late the wonderful life 
of the real, untouched, superstitious, natural Indian in his 
primitive and gloriously picturesque simplicity. 

And, more fascinating than all, it is the home, the natural 
centre, of that strange band of religionists known as " The 
Penitent Brothers." Even so learned and well-informed 
an authority as the Encyclopedia Britannica, in the last 
edition but one, as good as asserted that the Penitentes, or 
Flagellantes, were practically extinct; that the last proces- 
sion of Flagellantes marched in 1820 in Lisbon. 

And I have had several interesting experiences as the 
result of my contradiction of this high authority, when, 
lecturing in the East, I asserted that I had been present 
at Penitente processions, flagellations, and crucifixions in 
the boundaries of the United States within the past twenty- 
five years. 

It was Charles F. Lummis, in his TJie Land of Poco 
Ticinpo, who first wrote and illustrated these modern and 
American Penitentes. At the peril of his life, or at least at 
the point of a revolver, he secured photographs that materi- 
ally enhanced the value of his descriptions, and I myself 
have made photographs of the devotees, with half a dozen 
shotguns leveled in my direction, held in the hands of angry 
Mexicans, who were only prevented from firing, I imagine. 




TAOS PUEBLO, xi:\v Ali:XICO 




OLD SPANISH FORT NEAR TAOS 




Courtesy of Denver & Rio Grande R. R. 

CHURCH PROCESSION AT TAOS 




Copyriglil by E. E. ]]' ent'^vorth Layton 

PENITENTE " MORADA " (CHURCH) WITH CROSSES 



OLD TAOS AND THE FLA CELL ANTES 13 

by the ominous glint in the eyes of a fearless deputy sheriff 
who was my guide (and comfort as well) on the occasion. 

The Penitentes of our American Southwest — as com- 
monly they are called — are the natural or illegitimate 
descendants of the Third Order of St. Francis. This order 
was founded to give to laymen the religious advantages of 
the saint's rule, when circumstances rendered it impossible 
or inadvisable for them to accept the rigid monastic life. 
After the wave of self-flagellation swept over Europe as 
the result of the preaching and example of Cardinal Peter 
Damian, and St. Anthony of Padua, many fraternities intro- 
duced the practice privately among their membership. 
Then, in 1260, owing to the incitations of Ramer, a monk 
of Perugia, great numbers of the inhabitants of this city, 
noble and ignoble, old and young, traversed the streets, 
carrying in their hands leathern thongs, with which "they 
drew forth blood from their tortured bodies amid sighs 
and tears, singing at the same time penitential psalms, and 
entreating the compassion of the Deity." 

Then the custom spread by the example and teaching 
of peripatetic bands of devotees. At first they seemed to 
do considerable good in checking the open vice and wicked- 
ness of the people, but, in time, their exhibitions awakened 
the disgust of the better class of the people. Finally their 
flagellations grew so obnoxious to the moral sense of the 
church and the outside world that, in 1439, the occupant 
of the papal chair, Pope Clement vi, counselled and finally 
commanded that the order be suppressed. 

Under the papacy of Gregory xi the Holy Inquisition 
hunted out those who still continued the practice, and the 
sect was believed to have disappeared entirely. Yet in 141 4 



14 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

it was revived openly by Conrad Schmidt, and though he 
and his principal followers were arrested and executed, the 
spirit of the order, if not its practices, still prevailed. Again, 
in the sixteenth century, it broke out in the south of France, 
and Henry iii established a whipping brotherhood in Paris, 
and himself took an important part in the processions. 
These fraternities were suppressed by Henry iv, but 
nobody supposes for a moment that the practice was not 
continued, privately in the main, both in the south of 
France and in Italy and Spain. Yet, as far as is known, 
the last public procession was that already referred to as 
having taken place at Lisbon in 1820. 

How the movement reached the Spanish settlements of 
Nueva Mexico, and took possession of the hearts and lives 
of the dwellers of the Southwest, would prove an interest- 
ing and fascinating theme for historical research. Conjecture 
alone, now, must fill up the gap, with the mere supposition 
that some devout and zealous colonists, coming from the old 
world of Spain, or the new world of Mexico, into the 
northern land of New Mexico and Arizona, possessed by 
Coronado, Onate, and the later conquerors, brought the 
ritual of the brotherhood with them, wnth all its repulsive 
ceremonies of whippings, cross-bearing, and crucifixion. 

Certain it is, that when the United States forces, under 
General Stephen W. Kearny, took possession of this land, 
it was not long before whispers began to be heard of the 
strange doings of these bands of superstitious fanatics. 
When the facts were known and brought to the attention 
of the Archbishop at Santa Fe, he instructed the priests of 
his district to suppress the order, acting under the sanction 
of the early papal bull. But, inexplicable though it may 




u 

u 

Q 

-J 

o 
o 

CO 



OLD TAOS AND THE FLAGELLANTES 15 

seem, the cruel self-scourgings and the often fatal cruci- 
fixions of the brotherhood had taken such strong hold upon 
their religious instinct, native superstition, or fanaticism, 
that when the local priests called upon them, by authority 
of the head of the church, to desist from their practices, 
they positively refused. Steadily they continued their 
whippings and scourgings, their penances and crucifixions, 
in spite of all persuasions, commands, and final interdictions. 
Even when the Archbishop threatened to cast them out of 
the church they stolidly replied : " We do not care, we are 
Penitentes," as if that settled the question. To be a Peni- 
tente was far more satisfactory than to be a good Catholic. 
In that attitude they stand today. There is no longer 
open and definite enmity between themselves and the priests, 
but there is a tacit understanding that nothing is to be said 
on the subject on either side. Hence at Taos, and a score 
or two other Mexican settlements in the region I have 
mentioned, the Penitentes still hold full sway. The chief 
tenet of the Brotherhood seems to be a very literal inter- 
pretation of the words of the apostle : 

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffer- 
ings ; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad 
also with exceeding joy. I Pet. 4: 13. 

It was at Raton, about twenty-nine years ago, that I had 
my first experience with this wonderful fanaticism known 
as " Penitentes." I had been wandering over the surround- 
ing country with an interesting character such as one 
occasionally meets on the frontier — who knows everybody 
and whom everybody knows, and who goes where many 
men dare not go, and does naturally some things that most 
men never think of doing. So when he came to me one 



16 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

morning with the information that it was Easter time, and 
the Penitente Brothers would be engaged in their strange 
ceremonials, it did not take us long to secure horses and 
ride down the canyon three or four miles south of town, 
and we were soon perched upon a hillside where we could 
look down upon the little IMexican jacal from which the 
penetrating tones of a flute or flageolet wailed forth most 
dolorous notes. Following the flute we heard the singing 
of one or two hymns in rude, uncultivated voices of men. 

In a short time several of the Penitente Brothers emerged. 
Each votary had a mask or hood over his head which com- 
pletely concealed his face, excluding all possibility of recog- 
nition, even by his most intimate friends. The upper part 
of the body was entirely nude, the feet were bare, and the 
only garment worn was a pair of cotton drawers. Each 
man held in his hand a scourge — a three- foot-long whip, 
with a flaplike end, having the shape and appearance of a 
flexible spoon. The whip was made of yucca and cactus, 
and the spoon-shaped end was a large leaf of the prickly 
pear, one of the most thorny of the cruel cactuses of the 
Southwest. The whole scourge was filled with the spines 
of cactuses, and no sooner did the procession form and 
move forward, each hooded figure guided by a friend, than, 
to our utter amazement and horror, these cruel scourges 
were whirled over the shoulders and brought down with 
resounding " thwacks " upon the bare backs of those relig- 
ious fanatics. 

Every third step the back was beaten, and now and again 
we could hear the half -smothered shriek of the self-whipper 
as the piercing thorns penetrated the flesh. It was not long 
before blood trickled down their backs; but nothing 



OLD TAOS AND THE FLAGELLANTES 17 

daunted their fanatic fury. On they marched, led by the 
fifer playing a doleful air, accompanied by the equally 
dolorous singing of the Herman© Mayor, or Principal 
Brother. 

Several hundred yards up the canyon a large cross was 
standing and the whipping continued each third step until 
this cross was reached. Then the Flagellants threw them- 
selves face downwards, prostrate before the cross, and lay 
there for some time, while prayers were offered by the 
Hermano Mayor. 

That afternoon another procession formed with five of 
the brothers whipping themselves. This time several women 
followed in the procession. It was sickening to hear the 
swish of those fearful cactus whips. One of the brothers, 
however, managed to twist and turn his body in such a 
way as to dodge the prickly whip, and a. spectator was 
heard to say, " He is dodging. He is not whipping his 
sins out," but the cowardly member of the fraternity was 
speedily punished, for one of the guides seized the whip 
and belabored the poor victim with most sanguinary results. 
And all this time the pitero was wailing out his piercing 
tones, while the cracked voices of several of the men united 
in singing the hymn, " ]\Iy God and My Redeemer." 

The following day the procession with its flagellations 
was repeated. In the afternoon three of the blind- folded 
brothers were led to the spot where there were three large, 
heavy, rude crosses made of pine trees on which the bark 
still remained. It seemed to require considerable effort on 
the part of four or five of the attendant brothers to lift 
these crosses and place them on the backs of the pilgrims, 
and then the procession slowly started up the canyon. The 



18 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

poor wretches could barely stagger along under their heavy 
burdens, and finally one of them evidently fainted, for he 
fell, with the cross crushing the upper part of his body, 
and remained perfectly still until several of the attendants 
lifted the cross and another struck the prostrate pilgrim 
with a cactus whip and followed his blows with several 
kicks. The suffering wretch staggered to his feet and 
again the cross was put on his shoulders, but this time he 
was urged on his way at about every other step with a 
vicious blow from the whip of his attendant brother. 

A little further on one of the other cross-bearers fell, 
but he seemed to have more strength than the first one who 
had fallen, and soon regained his feet. It seemed a pitiably 
long time before that strangely solemn yet pathetically hid- 
eous procession reached the little knoll where holes already 
had been dug for the standing up of the crosses. This knoll 
or hillock was called El Calvario — The Calvary. 

Here other ceremonies were gone through, and that 
evening in the little church in town there was a graphic 
and dramatic representation of the events that followed 
the crucifixion — the darkness, the rending of the veil of 
the temple, the earthquake, and the arising of the dead 
from their tombs. 

At Taos, at the present time, lives the Chief Brother of 
the whole organization. Hence the morada — or church — 
here sees many manifestations of the order's activity. It is 
located some distance from the town, and appears like any 
adobe house, save for the several large crosses that stand 
outside, leaning against the adobe wall of the corral. These 
are made of the undressed trunks or limbs of trees and are 
fearfully heavy, as I found out when I tried to lift them. 



OLD TAOS AND THE FLAGELLANTES 19 

Inside the morada is an altar, fully decorated with rude 
paintings, figures of saints, etc., dominated by a large cruci- 
fix on which is the impaled Christ, in the most hideous 
realism. In addition is a small wagon — about the size of 
a child's toy express wagon — in which is a repulsive figure 
of Death, used in the lenten ceremonies of the order — for 
their chief activities are centered in the forty days of Lent, 
and the great days are Good Friday and Easter Sunday, 
though scourgings take place on the three days preceding 
the date of our Lord's crucifixion. 

Taos may be reached with comparative ease from the 
Denver and Rio Grande Railway station of Servilleta. A 
stage drive of thirty miles takes one across the valley of the 
Rio Grande River, as Charles Francis Saunders describes it : 

Across a sunny, open mesa country, rimmed about with 
magnificent mountains, which the declining sun touches with 
fascinating colors — pink and red and wine, amethyst and 
violet and purple. Halfway on our journey and without 
warning, the highway runs out to the brink of a narrow pre- 
cipitous gorge, and, six hundred feet below you, the current 
of the Rio Grande plunges and roars. Down it, into the depths, 
your team picks its way gingerly by a road cut out of the 
perpendicular canyon sides to meet the river and to cross it. 
There is a little riverside stopping-place down there where 
you may break your journey, if you wish; then, climbing out 
of the gorge by the canyon of the Arroyo Hondo, where a 
hurrying stream of clear mountain water flashes and bounds 
down among the rocks, you are again upon the wide plain. 
Before you is the ineft'able splendour of the Rockies, their 
sides all splashed, if it be autumn, with the orange and gold 
of the aspen groves, and yonder, at the mountains' foot, where 
one canyon, the Glorieta, more noble than the rest, pours a 
flood of crystal water out into the plain, lies Taos.* 

* Indians of the Terraced Houses, p. 98. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 
New York. 



CHAPTER III 

THE PREHISTORIC CLIFF- AND CAVE-DWELLINGS 
OF THE SOUTHWEST 



N 



EVER so well as now can the intelligent American 
visit and understand the cliff and cave dwellings of 
the United States. Never before has their relative signifi- 
cance been so well understood. While an immense amount 
has been written upon them, half of it has been "wild, 
woolly, and yellow," while the other half has been purely 
technical and scientific, and not easily accessible to the 
general reader. 

The boundaries of Cliff-Dweller Land in the United 
States may be broadly defined as including Southern Colo- 
rado and Utah, Arizona, as far west as the Colorado River, 
and New Mexico on the east. In this region there are 
found twelve separate or reasonably well-defined distinctive 
areas of cliff, cave, or other prehistoric dwellings. 

These are (i) the ruins of the Province of Tusayan — 
ruins found near the present Hopi Pueblos; (2) those of 
the Salt and Gila River Valleys; (3) those of the Lower 
and Upper Verde Valleys — the latter sometimes called 
" The Red Rock Country " ; (4) those of the San Francisco 
Mountain region — near Flagstaff, Arizona; (5) those of 
the Little Colorado River Valley; (6) those of the Canyon 
de Chelly; (y) those of the Navaho National Monument 
— Betatakin and Kitsiel ; (8) those of the Pajarito Plateau, 

20 



CUFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST 21 

not far from Santa Fe, New Mexico; (9) those of the 
Zuni region; (10) those of the Chaco Canyon; (n) those 
of the ]\Iesa Verde; (12) those of the San Juan River 
region. 

Of these separate regions numbers i, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 
and 12 are so distinctive, and so intimately connected with 
other features of the American Wonderlands as to entitle 
them to separate chapters, to which the interested reader 
is referred. The others, and the general conclusions drawn 
from a study of them all, form the subject of the remainder 
of this present chapter. 

When these ruins originally were discovered they were 
thought to be scarcely related; or, if connected at all, very 
loosely and indifferently. Now it is believed firmly and 
reasonably that they were all closely connected and were, 
in the main, the work of the same or allied peoples, the dif- 
ferences being chiefly those of condition and environment. 

Then, too, it must clearly be understood that there is no 
line of separation between the vast number of ruins of 
houses, of scattered pueblos, found dotted all over the 
major area defined above, and the cliff and cave-dwellings 
found in their respective limits within the same area. To 
trace out and finally demonstrate the relationship between 
these ruins and the cliff-dwellings has been the proud 
achievement of the new School of American Archaeology 
which has grown up practically within the past twenty to 
twenty-five years. 

When the United States and Mexico went to war over 
Texas, and the Army of the West was started out from 
the East to invade and subjugate New Mexico and Cali- 
fornia, the knowledge held by the world at large in regard 



22 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

to the vast territory we now call New Mexico, Arizona, 
Colorado, Utah, and California was exceedingly limited. 
We knew of the city of Santa Fe, because our trappers 
went through the country and occasionally got into trouble 
there, and several of them came back and told, in book 
form, as did James O. Pattie, of Kentucky, of their adven- 
tures. His book was published by John H. Wood, in 
Cincinnati, in 183 1. Of course we knew a little about 
California, but gold was not yet discovered, and most people 
thought of it only as a remote coast settlement of the 
Mexicans, and could not understand why Benton and Fre- 
mont and others should be so agitated about it. But Texas 
precipitated the trouble; Mexico and the United States 
went to war. 

Sloat, urged on by Fremont, took possession of Cali- 
fornia, Kearny and his army annexed and possessed Santa 
Fe and New Mexico — which then included Arizona — and 
the various Indian tribes as well as the Mexicans were 
called upon to pay allegiance to our government. For quite 
a while the Navahos regarded our treaty-making w^ith them 
as one of the greatest pieces of fun of the century. They 
were willing enough (as I shall show in the chapter on the 
Canyon de Chelly) to make a new treaty every month, for 
that meant a pow-wow, presents, beef, and the chance to 
steal more horses and mules, as well as make fun of the 
white-faced treaty-makers. What a joke it all was! 

It was while these army officers were learning something 
of the Navahos and their peculiar tactics that they began to 
learn something of the country in which the Indians lived. 
Reconnaissance parties were sent out, and instructed to 
report upon whatever they saw or found of interest. Some 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST 23 

of these officers were keenly alive to everything that bor- 
dered upon archaeology, or seemed to promise a field for 
investigation and exploration. The result was that when, 
some twenty-five years later, the United States Bureau of 
American Ethnology was organized under the able director- 
ship of Major John Wesley Powell, and the experts of the 
United States Geological Survey were studying every new 
formation they could find on the earth's surface of our new 
western possessions, confirmed to us at the close of the 
Mexican war by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, a good 
deal of general knowledge was gained about the cliff- 
dwellings, and they were a legitimate subject for real scien- 
tific exploration and study. 

The original explorers had found that the whole country, 
included in the territory bounded by Southern Utah and 
Colorado, as far east as the Rio Grande River, south to 
the Mexican line and, perhaps, beyond, and west pretty 
nearly to the Colorado River, was literally covered with 
ruins of towers, big communal houses, isolated clusters of 
house ruins, small houses, with numberless houses of similar 
style built in the faces of cliffs, and apparently inaccessible ; 
while remains of prehistoric irrigation canals lined and 
seamed the valleys in every direction. 

In addition to these ruins of communal houses, there were 
a number of Indian villages, called by the Spaniards and 
Mexicans pueblos, where communal houses of similar 
character were found, but in actual occupation. These 
inhabited pueblos reached from Taos, in Northeastern New 
Mexico, not far from the border of Colorado; down the 
Rio Grande River, on and near which there were over 
twenty of them; westward to the magnificent city of the 



24 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

sky, Acoma, with its three-story high wall of defense 
perched on top of one of the most wonderful and thrilling 
"islands of rock" the eye of man has ever rested upon; 
to Zuni, where a seven-storied pueblo housed the inhabi- 
tants; and to far-away Hopiland — or, as the Spaniards 
called it, the Province of Tusayan — where the Hopis lived 
high on the summits of inaccessible mesas and performed 
strange religious ceremonies in which they handled deadly 
rattlesnakes and carried them in their mouths. 

Magazine writers began to exploit these wonders, and 
scientists who never saw them also had to have their say, 
and the results were the scattering over the whole country 
of a vast amount of false knowledge. We heard of the 
Cliff-Dwellers, first of all that they were descendants of 
the Aztecs ; hence the score or so of Aztec and Montezuma 
names found in the West. Then we were told that they 
were a dwarf race, because only a dwarf people could live 
in houses that had such small doorways. Next, as more 
clifif-dwellings were discovered, we were informed — still 
by the so-called scientists, most of whom had never seen 
a cliff-dwelling in their lives — that they were inhabited by 
a people who had fled to them for refuge and defense 
against a hostile and fierce foe, who, eventually, had exter- 
minated them and left not a solitary descendant. Therefore 
they were a lost race, a people without a history, and, 
because they had no knowledge of writing and had left no 
written records, it was utterly impossible that we could ever 
know anything about their past, or how they had been 
swept so completely out of existence. 

Then the real scientists got to work. They called a halt 
on the guesswork. They said : " We don't know, and we 



CLIFF -DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST 25 

never can know, unless we quit this foolish and absurd 
' theorizing ' and try to learn some facts upon which to base 
our theories. We'll excavate some of these ruins; we'll 
see if they have any message for us; then we'll talk to 
the Pueblo Indians who inhabit these modern houses, which 
in some respects look so much like these ancient ruins, and 
see what they can tell us of the ruins, and then, perhaps, 
putting this and that together, we may gain some real 
knowledge of these ruins and their former inhabitants." 
Accordingly, Lieutenant Gushing went to live at Zuni with 
the Pueblo Indians. Mr. A. IM. Stephen went to Hopiland 
and did the same with the Hopis. Dr. Washington Mat- 
thews, whose duties as an army surgeon took him to frontier 
posts in Arizona and other points, began to study the 
Navahos; and Jackson, Holmes, Bandelier, the Mindeleffs, 
Colonel James Stevenson, Major Powell and others began 
to excavate the ruins and gather up material; and later, 
Fewkes, Hodge, Hough, Hewett, and others shared in the 
work until today we are convinced that we know much that 
could never have been learned had we remained foolishly 
content with our hit or miss guesswork. 

1. The ruins of the Province of Tusayan. These are 
briefly referred to in Chapter iv. 

2. TJie ruins of the Salt and Gila River Valleys. One 
of the most notable, as it was one of the earliest ruins 
described by the first white explorers of the Southwest, is 
the Casa Grande, situated about midway between the sta- 
tions of Casa Grande and Florence, in the Gila River 
Valley. 

The popular conception regarding it is of a solitary 
"great house," standing alone in a plain, the only ruin of 



26 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

its kind, and possessing a mystery as great as, though dif- 
ferent in kind from, the cHff-dwelHngs. This, however, is 
erroneous. Casa Grande is but one of many similar South- 
ern Arizona ruins, and this structure is surrounded by other 
buildings and plazas covering an area of very great extent. 

The ruin was first seen and described by Lieutenant Juan 
Mateo Mange, the nephew of the Governor of Sonora, in 
1694, at the time he was acting as escort for the indefati- 
gable missionary, Eusebio Francisco Kino, or Kuehne, the 
Jesuit, whose devotion to the christianization of the Indians 
led him to the most perilous expeditions and endeavors. 

Scores of travelers have since visited and described it, 
but not until 189 1-2 was it carefully studied by Cosmos 
Mindeleff, one of the Bureau of Ethnology's experts. He 
called attention to that which the casual observers had prac- 
tically ignored, namely, the large number of surrounding 
ruins, which, being less imposing, indeed mostly having 
crumbled to mere mounds, did not seem worthy of atten- 
tion. He estimated that the whole area covered by the 
Casa Grande group of ruins included about 1800 feet north 
and south, and 1500 feet east and west, or a total area of 
about sixty-five acres. 

Regarding Casa Grande as a specific type of structure 
widely distributed throughout the Gila Valley, but, as far 
as is known, not found elsewhere, Mindeleff took this as 
an indication of the existence of a definite culture existent 
in this valley. Environment stamps itself indelibly upon 
the buildings any aboriginal people erect, because the prob- 
lem of transportation was one they had not solved. The 
difference in the surroundings of this people, where rocks 
were exceedingly scarce, and adobe or other mud abounded, 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST 27 

and that where rocks were the prevailing material, reflected 
itself in the architecture. These people, under different 
climatic conditions, had to work out about the same prob- 
lems of existence as had their cliff-dwelling brothers of the 
north. 

Public interest in Casa Grande once aroused, it mani- 
fested itself in the formation and presentation of a petition 
to Congress for an appropriation for its preservation, and 
in 1899 the sum of $2,000 was set aside for this purpose. 
While this was altogether inadequate for the work essential 
to be done, it was a start, and the amount was wisely- 
expended under Mr. Mindeleff's direction. The results 
were deemed so important that twice in later years Congress 
appropriated $3,000, making in all the sum of $8,000. 

These later amounts were expended by Dr. J. Walter 
Fewkes, and the excavations carried on by him have widely 
broadened and deepened our knowledge of Casa Grande and 
all the ruins of the Gila and Salt River Valleys. Indeed, 
they conclusively proved that instead of this ruin being 
isolated and alone, it is one of scores of similar, though 
smaller, buildings, housing a population that occupied a 
large area, larger, indeed, than several of the eastern states, 
and all with the same degree of ethnic culture. These 
people lived in clusters of houses, surrounded by a common 
wall, which inclosed also massive houses that served as 
temples or as citadels, for protection. It is doubtful whether 
they were all occupied at the same time, for it has ever been 
the custom for these aboriginal people to keep "on the 
move," and as soon as a drought, or some other untoward 
circumstance, rendered a site unfavorable, they left it and 
occupied another. 



28 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

These builders had two ways, at least, of erecting these 
large structures, the chief of which was the exact counter- 
part of our reinforced concrete, save that there was no 
steel or other reinforcement. Moulds were made, in situ, 
into which the native adobe, or other natural cement, was 
placed, tightly jammed down, and left to solidify before the 
next block was added. Where there was less need for 
strength the walls w^ere made by fastening upright poles 
together and covering them with the mud cement, or mak- 
ing the mud wall, and then supporting it with poles on 
either side. 

The conclusions to which Dr. Fewkes arrived as to the 
relationship of these ruins with the cliff-dwellings in the 
north and east are exceedingly interesting, and the student 
who desires to be better informed should carefully read the 
monograph which appears in the Tzventy-eighth Report of 
the Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Not far away from the Gila-Salt population was another 
aboriginal people, working out their life problems in their 
w^ay, and we will now proceed to a brief consideration of 
what they have left behind them. 

3. The ruins of the Lozver and Upper Verde Valleys. 
In the early days of United States occupation of Arizona, 
the Apaches, as well as the Navahos, gave the settlers an 
immense amount of trouble. Conjoined with them in their 
deviltry were the Tontos (really the Yamapais), and the 
Wallapais. It took our army officers a long time to learn 
how to handle the Indian problem, and, when the Indians 
were out on the warpath, how to fight them. 

To help out, military camps were established over the 
country, and one of these was set down in the heart of 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF TFIE SOUTHWEST 29 

the Verde country, and named Camp Verde. One of the 
medical officers of this camp was inclined to keep his eyes 
open, and he soon found out that the Verde region was 
lined, in its canyon walls, its mesa tops, its valley bottoms, 
with ruins of several kinds. Mindeleff, Hough, and Fewkes, 
in late years, have studied them, and now we know some- 
what of their character, history, and the traditions connected 
with them. The Pueblo Indians have clearly defined tradi- 
tions telling that their present population is made up of 
an aggregation of clans, or families, that came in one at a 
time from different directions, and that certain of their 
clans, or families, came from the Verde country. Several 
kinds of houses were found, but these seemed to be more 
the result of physical environment than anything else. 

The Cliff-Dwellers built in the cliffs not so much because 
a warlike foe was bent on their destruction, but because the 
cliffs were there ; they overlooked the corn-fields, and melon 
and squash patches, and therefore were the most convenient, 
easily-accessible house sites they could find. They built on 
the mesa tops when the mesas were more convenient, and 
they built on the bottom lands when such offered the most 
advantageous sites. These facts soon knocked out of the 
heads of the scientists the idea that the Cliff-Dwellers were 
a separate and distinct race of people. They were the same 
people as those who built on the mesa tops and the valley 
bottoms. This also disproved the idea of their being driven 
out of existence by a warlike foe. And we soon began to 
realize that Indians know nothing of the science of war as 
we understand it. They never plan a campaign, and carry 
out warfare in our sense. Driven by hunger, or restless- 
ness, or, perhaps, desirous of avenging some real or 



30 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

supposed injury or insult, a band of them starts out to make 
a raid. The nomad, or wandering Indians, to which class 
the Apaches, Wallapais and Tontos belong, not having any 
fixed homes, were not in the habit of accumulating food 
supplies. 

It was a great temptation when they came upon a settle- 
ment where the inhabitants were industrial agriculturists, 
who stored away corn, melons, and the like for future use, 
and who dressed buckskin, and wove cotton, which they 
grew themselves, and made sleeping mats of yucca fibre, 
and baskets, and pottery, I say it was a great temptation 
to the wandering bands who had none of these things and 
who trusted to luck and their own thieving capacities to 
get them, to raid those who had been so provident as to 
have them. To protect themselves, therefore, when these 
raids began, the sedentary, or home-loving agricultural 
Indians, banded together. They built their great com- 
munal houses, with outer walls like rude forts, and with 
only a few entrances, easily defended. They tilled their 
fields and generally had some one on the lookout during 
the " raiding season," and when an alarm was given they 
hurried to their homes, closed up the gateways and thus 
were practically safe from the harrowing process. The 
cliff-dwellings were no more fortresses than the big com- 
munity houses on the mesa tops. They were first of all 
houses, with outlooks over their cornfields, and then so 
planned that they would be easily defended in case they 
were raided by these wandering bands of thieving and 
marauding Apaches. And that is practically all there is to 
the cliff-dwellings. 

As to their vast number, and the indications these give 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST 31 

of a tremendous population, we have learned that the 
ancestors of the present Pueblo Indians were all the time 
looking for good cornfields. Arizona is a country that is 
uncertain as to its rainfall in the valleys. It is naturally 
a country for irrigation. Now, while the Indians under- 
stood the art of irrigation, they were not engineers and 
builders enough to erect great dams and thus create storage 
reservoirs for cases of emergency or drought. The result 
was that, if one dry season came, they could stand that, 
perhaps two, or even three, in succession; but if a drought 
continued longer than that they were compelled by inex- 
orable necessity to move on, and they seldom moved back 
over land they had once before occupied. Like the rest of 
us, they were convinced always that "it was better on 
before." The result was they were a people of perpetual 
migrations, and at each migration they deserted their former 
homes and built new ones. Here, then, we have the secret 
of the vast number of ruins found throughout this country. 
The principal and best known ruins of the Verde region 
are the so-called Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. 
The former is located in a cliff about five miles from Camp 
Verde, up Beaver Creek, where the canyon wall makes a 
great curve, like a basin set on edge, and in the cavity thus 
formed, eighty feet or so above the foot of the cliff, as 
swallows build under the eaves of a house, the Cliff-Dwell- 
ers stuck their human nest. It is about sixty feet wide and 
not quite so high, four stories in front and one story higher 
in the rear. It is supposed it was never reached except by 
ladders, but the Indians say this is not so, though no person 
today could ever imagine how the primitive builders, no 
matter though they were as agile as mountain goats, could 



32 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

ever have scaled that cliff. Certainly if they ever did so 
it was less precipitous than it is now, though the ruin itself 
is little changed since it was deserted. 

The floors were made of adobe, or some other tenacious 
mud, which was also used as mortar and plaster. The fires 
were built in a sort of firehole in the floor, and ashes are 
still found there. The rafters and walls are smoky, for 
there was no chimney, and the smoke got out as best it 
could through small apertures in the walls above. There 
are about thirty rooms in all in the " castle," but not many 
doorways. Had it not been for white vandals, members of 
the superior race that thinks first of all of money, it would 
have stood for centuries, as it had done in the past, but 
these gophering ghouls undermined the walls, digging for 
treasure, dynamiting or blasting wherever they thought it 
would hurry their excavations. Fortunately a few public- 
spirited men of Arizona, led by Dr. Miller, of Phoenix, 
determined to save it from ruin. They went before the 
legislature with a broad-minded bill for its salvation and 
further preservation, prohibiting further irresponsible exca- 
vations, and providing for the establishment of a State 
Museum, to which the generous Doctor philanthropically 
offered the whole of his magnificent collection of over a 
thousand pieces of ethnological and archaeological interest. 

But times were not yet ripe in Arizona politics for such 
a bill. It failed of passage, so Dr. Miller proceeded to 
interest his friends, and soon raised enough cash, with the 
gift of his personal services, to replace the damaged founda- 
tion, run iron rods through the building and securely anchor 
it to the cliff, roof it with corrugated iron where needed, 
construct easy approaches to it, clean out most of the rooms, 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST 33 

and put it, generally, in fair condition. It is now made a 
national monument, and as the years go by and thoughtful 
Americans wake up to a full appreciation of their historical 
memorials the name of Dr. G. W. Miller will be one of 
those highly honored because of his far-seeing philanthropy 
in saving this wonderful ruin for future generations. 

About six miles farther up Beaver Creek is another won- 
derful cluster of cliff ruins, but they are secondary in 
interest to the place where they are found. This is a crater- 
appearing hole in the heart of a mound-like elevation by 
the side of the creek. As one walks up the gentle slope it 
looks like hundreds of other hills — a thousand — one may 
find in the Southwest, but as soon as he reaches the top he 
stops and takes a deep breath in very amazement and sur- 
prise. For there, before him, in a moment appears a vast 
hole, rudely circular in form, about 400 feet across in the 
widest part, and from sixty to eighty feet deep, at the 
bottom of which is a black-velvet- faced pool of water that 
seems as if it had sprung up in some magical fashion from 
the River Styx, or some equally spooky source. One's first 
impulse is to throw a rock into it, and looking about for one, 
one walks around the edge and there, on the creek side, 
where it has cut deep into the side of the mound during 
flood times, so that it appears a mere thin shell, resting 
right on the knife-blade edge, is a ruined pueblo. Some of 
the remaining walls are 3^et eight feet high, and it was evi- 
dently built there so as to overlook the cornfields on the 
creek bank beneath. Mr. C. F. Lummis says of it : 

The fort-house absolutely controlled the only reasonable 
entrance to the well ; the only other path down to the lake's 
edge could be held by boys against an enemy. 



34 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Clambering down this cliff path to the little platform at 
the water level, one is suddenly aware of a cave mouth even 
gloomier than the gloomy lake. A sad little sycamore stands 
before it, and beyond stretches that strange, dark, unscratched 
mirror of the dark pool. The cave is a natural limestone 
cave, burrowing hundreds of feet under the hill; but at the 
first turn in it the explorer shivers with sudden wonder. For 
here, too, were the homes of the hunted Pueblos. Away back 
in the gloom is a strong wall of prehistoric masonry, with a 
narrow doorway ; and back again another door and another 
wall, and so on. The limestone floor rings in places bell-like 
to the tread, and deep under it one can hear the chuckle of 
subterranean water sprites. Here and there, too, it is broken 
through, and there is the buried brook ready to be drunk 
from as in the old days. * * * Here are still the frag- 
ments of the Cliff-Dwellers' pottery and of their agate tools; 
and in one room the unforgetful mortar preserves the perfect 
imprint of a baby's hand that pressed it wet a thousand years, 
maybe, ago.* 

Many of the cliff ruins of the Upper Verde are mainly 
caves, hollowed both by nature and man out of the soft 
strata found in the faces of certain cliffs. Hammered with 
the rude stone implements of the primitive man, great flakes 
fell off, and thus a small cave could speedily be enlarged to 
the size required. Then, for protection, a w^all was built in 
front, or on the sides, and the back of the cliff and its upper 
wall, formed the back and roof of the human habitation. 
There are literally hundreds of such rooms and cave- 
dwellings in this region. 

Another class of dwellings used to exist here, the remains 
of which can now be pointed out. These were built on 
foundations of heavy boulders, and consisted of the primi- 
tive man's foreshadowing of what today is known as rein- 

* C. F. Lummis, "Our Western Wonderlands," in Land of Sunshine. 




n 




O 



o 
u 

CD 

U 
< 

< 

CD 




< 
o 

N 

1— < 

Pi 
< 

< 

H 
m 

O 
<f 

Pi 
< 

O 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTLIIVEST 35 

forced concrete. He made a rude framework of wattled 
willows and then plastered it on both sides with mud. 

Still another indication of aboriginal man is found in the 
rude forts that occupy many mesa tops. These are generally 
made of massive loose-stone walls, several feet thick, rectan- 
gular in shape, and evidently intended solely for places of 
retreat in cases of sudden attack. 

That these people were industrious agriculturists is proven 
by the many remains of irrigation canals which line and 
seam the hillsides and valleys. Some of these have been 
taken advantage of by modern farmers and are today in use. 

4. The ruins of the San Francisco Mountains region, near 
Flagstaff. When I first began to visit the Flagstaff region, 
about thirty years ago, the livery stable keepers were just 
beginning to realize the commercial advantages of the cave 
and cliff-dwellings which had been found within some ten 
or twelve miles of the town. The former were located in 
the volcanic cones almost due east, while the latter were in 
Walnut Canyon, to the southeast, the ride to both of them 
and back, from the town, forming the three sides of a rudely 
equilateral triangle, each member of which was about ten 
miles long. The cave-dwellings were partially natural and 
partially excavated out of the friable volcanic breccia of 
which the volcanic hills are formed. Later, I shall refer to 
the lava fields in the neighborhood of Flagstaff, to which 
these hills belong. 

Some of the rooms have vertical entrances; in other 
words, one simply drops through a hole to the level of the 
floor beneath. Doubtless the inhabitants used primitive lad- 
ders, as their descendants do today; for Major Powell 
found that the Havasupais, who now reside in Havasu — 



36 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Blue-Water — or Cataract Canyon, claim that their ances- 
tors used to occupy these caves before and after the arrival 
of the Spaniards in the country. Other rooms are entered 
laterally, the caves being hollowed out on the same level as 
the entrances, though everything is rude and governed 
entirely by the conditions and the evident whim of the 
excavator. The chief evidences of anything savoring of 
human culture are the plastering of the rooms, the leveling 
and smooth surfacing of the floors by the introduction of 
mud cement, the metates for grinding, and the pottery that 
has been found. 

There is a great similarity existing between these caves 
and those of the Upper Verde Valley, the only difference 
being in the material out of which the caves were hollowed. 
Undoubtedly, the ethnic culture of the two peoples was 
practically the same, hence it may have been that they were 
occupied by the same people, at different periods of their 
migrations. 

5. The Little Colorado ruins. Some of the earliest pho- 
tographs I ever made in Arizona were of ruins near the 
Tuba road from Flagstaff, and of others near Black Falls 
of the Little Colorado. In his studies of the ruins of 
Arizona Dr. Fewkes visited these and made a number 
of excavations, finding much pottery, and many stone and 
other implements. He found connecting resemblances in 
the former suggestive of both Zuni and Hopi, indicating 
what tradition has long asserted, that they are a related 
people. These ruins reach almost from the junction of the 
Little Colorado with the Colorado Grande, in the Grand 
Canyon, to all the southern tributaries and beyond, down 
to the headwaters of the Salt, the Gila, and the Verde. 



CUFF-DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTFIPFEST 37 

Taken in connection with the present-day life of the 
modern pueblos of the Hopi, there are few objects in Ari- 
zona more interesting than these remains of a passing phase 
of human culture. They teach us the solidarity of human 
life. Man is nowhere isolated. By his very efforts and 
struggles, his progress and his retrogressions, he is con- 
nected with his fellows, and in what we read of the life 
history of the aboriginal builders of these ancient ruins, 
we may see the stages by which our own attainments in 
civilization have come. 



CHAPTER IV 
TO BETATAKIN AND KITSIEL 

ONE of Arizona's great charms is that it is so big that 
hundreds of square miles are as yet unspoiled by rail- 
ways, cities, and modern civilization. What a grand thing 
it is that a civilized, modern, city man, either of the East 
or the West, can, within a few hours of his ow^n home, find 
not one, but a score of places, as absolutely desert and out 
of civilization as Burnaby found on his A Ride to Khiva, or 
Sven Hedin on his Asiatic journeys. Two of the most 
vivid and truthful articles that have recently appeared in 
American magazine literature contain the account of a trip 
through desert Arizona to one of the marvelous Cliff-Cities 
named in the heading of this chapter. Both of these ruins 
had recently been discovered, Kitsiel, by Richard Wetherill 
in 1894, and Betatakin, by Professor Byron Cummings, of 
the University of Utah, in 1909. These had been shown 
to Mr. W. B. Douglass, Especial Examiner and Surveyor 
of the Interior Department, and by him reported to his 
superiors, and they were thereupon deemed so important 
that they were created into the Navaho National Monument 
and Dr. Fewkes detailed to examine and report upon them. 
This report was published as Bulletin ^0 of the Bureau of 
Ethnology, and from it Mr. J. W. Oskison gained his 
information and inspiration to visit the ruins. His two 
articles appeared in recent numbers of The Outing Maga- 

38 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 39 

sine. The pictures he draws of the land and its aboriginal 
inhabitants, and also of the white man's general ignorance 
of these remote corners, are not more graphic than they are 
reliable, and it is to illustrate the influence this part of the 
Arizona country has on the minds of a blase newspaper man 
that the following quotations are made. Following Dr. 
Fewkes's somewhat vague directions of his own journey, 
Mr. Oskison engaged a man at Flagstaff to take himself 
and companion to Betatakin. They soon discovered that 
their "guide" knew very little more of the country than 
they did : a not uncommon experience, for Arizona, with its 
nearly 114,000 square miles of territory, is not a small land, 
being very nearly as large as all New England from Maine 
to and including the State of New York. 

Dr. Fewkes tells of three w^ays one can go to the Navaho 
National Monument, viz., via Flagstaff, Arizona; Gallup, 
and Farmington, New Mexico. He and Mr. Oskison went 
by the former route, as I myself have done a large part 
of the way, but on my last trip when, for the first time, 
I actually reached the ruins, I went in by Gallup, and out 
by Farmington. So that I have had the experience of all 
three routes. By none of them is there any regular stage 
— one either has to " outfit " or arrange to be taken, and the 
difficulty with the livery men at Flagstaff, Gallup, and 
Farmington is that it is very doubtful whether any of them 
can secure a driver who, in any true sense, is a guide, either 
for the wonders one should see on the way, or the ruins 
themselves when he arrives in the region where they are 
supposed to be. My advice, to those unacquainted with the 
country at the present date, is that they write to Wetherill 
and Colville, Kayenta, Arizona, and have them come to any 



40 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

one of the places named, or even to Grand Canyon, Arizona, 
or to Mancos, Colorado, and they will give the traveler more 
sight-seeing and real experiences for the money expended 
than can be secured in any other way, or with three times 
the expenditure. The distance from all five places is ap- 
proximately the same — from i6o to 175 miles; the country 
to be traversed equally picturesque, with distinct variations 
and experiences, which I will briefly name. For instance, 
from Flagstaff one can visit the Cave Dwellings, the Cliff 
Dwellings of Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater and the Lava 
Fields, cross the Little Colorado at Volz's Crossing, and go 
by way of the Hopi country, seeing all the pueblos of the 
three mesas and the ruins of several of the older villages; 
or cross the Little Colorado at Tanner's Crossing, see some 
of the ruins on the way, then visit the Hopi agricultural 
village of Moenkopi, and strike north for Betatakin and 
Kayenta. 

From Farmington one passes by the San Juan Navaho 
agency, at Shiprock, where the most intelligent work I am 
familiar with in the education of Indians is being done by 
the superintendent, W. T. Shelton. Shiprock itself is well 
worth seeing, as is also the San Juan country. By deviating 
from the straight road at Tecs-naz-paz (the Circle of Cot- 
tonwoods) one may visit the Cliff ruins of the McElmo and 
Montezuma creeks and their tributaries, the " Land of Stand- 
ing Rocks," and the famous cliff and other ruins of the San 
Juan, and even enjoy the rare trip to the Natural Bridges 
of Utah — the most wonderful natural bridges known in 
the world. Then the ride across country is full of strange 
experiences, for the white man is seldom seen, and the 
Navaho equally rarely builds his hogan in a prominent 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 41 

place. Hence the country seems deserted in its native 
wildness and solitude. 

From Gallup one visits the Haystacks, and the Navaho 
Indian agency at Fort Defiance, or goes more directly by 
way of St. Michaels, where the Franciscan Fathers have a 
Mission for the Navahos. Thence to Ganado is a pleasant 
and easy day's drive, meeting on the way Navaho teamsters 
and passing by hogans where weavers are at work making 
their blankets. At Ganado, as is elsewhere related, one finds 
a remarkable host in John Lorenzo Hubbell, a prince of good 
fellows, who, with his gracious daughters, sustains all the 
ideas of generous hospitality that have come down to us 
from " the Days of the Dons." Here, perhaps, the traveler 
may be favored with a sight of some important and impos- 
ing Navaho ceremonial and dance, or see sights of trading 
between the aborigine and white man that will stick in mem- 
ory for many years. Then from Ganado to Chin Lee — 
which is at the mouth of the soul-stirring Canyon de Chelly, 
with its numerous Cliff-dwellings — is an interesting day's 
drive. And from here, across the wild and almost trackless 
country, to Kayenta, every hour has its own fascination and 
charm. 

From Mancos one will visit, of course, the Mesa Verde 
Cliff-dwellings and the Ute Indian agency, striking across 
to the Montezuma and McElmo Cliff-ruins, and the Natural 
Bridges, and thence to Kayenta. 

The rates charged by Wetherill and Colville are very rea- 
sonable, considering the specific quality and quantity of 
knowledge possessed by their guides, the difficult nature of 
the country to be traversed, and the comfort or discomfort 
a guide can visit upon his employer. Here are the prices I 



42 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

paid, and they are the regular rates : Each pack or saddle 
horse in the party, $1.50 per day; guide and his horse, $8.00 
per day; if the party is large enough to require it a helper 
must be engaged at an extra $3.50 per day. In addition, 
the traveler pays for all provisions for himself and guides, 
and all feed needed for the animals. 

In my own case I left Gallup in the automobile stage 
which runs regularly to St. Michaels. The fare is reason- 
able and the ride a wonderful change to one who knows 
nothing but city boulevards and the fine roads of an eastern 
state. The roads were somewhat rough, and rain made them 
muddy. But the changing panorama of this vividly colored 
and gloriously carved land more than made up for any 
roughness or muddiness of the road. St. Michaels is the 
site of a Franciscan Mission, where a band of devoted 
missionaries are carrying out the ideas of the friars of 
early days and seeking to uplift the Navahos who for 
centuries have regarded this country as their legitimate 
home. 

The following day I drove with a friend to Ganado. He 
had borrowed a pair of fiery and untamed broncos, but 
we got along well until, just as we came to the straight mile 
leading down to the trading-post, something went wrong 
and the broncos started to run. I sat back, prepared to 
enjoy the run-away, for I was sure my friend could handle 
the team, when, suddenly, crack went the single-tree, and, 
leaping forward at the sound, the neck-yoke was released 
from the pole and immediately the latter fell to the ground 
and began to tear up the surface with every jump. Need- 
less to say, the wagon completely beyond guidance, a pair 
of maddened broncos fastened to it, the pole sticking into 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITS I EL 43 

the ground, and swinging first one way and then another, 
was an entirely different proposition from a straight run- 
away, and as we swung around to the left, towards a barbed- 
wire fence, and the broncos seemed to persist in that direc- 
tion, I decided to sever my connection with that wagon-seat 
as speedily as I could. Jumping, I succeeded in reaching 
the head of one of the scared ponies, while an Indian hung 
onto the other, and at the same time ten, twenty, I don't 
know how many, hung onto the wheels. It was nothing to 
them : they were used to such capers, and in five minutes 
we marched, a triumphant procession, into Hubbell's hos- 
pitable home. 

After ten days' enjoyment here, taking in Navahos and 
their dances, Mr. Hubbell sent a Navaho with me, driving a 
buckboard, across to Chin Lee. That was a great ride, 
especially the last two hours, with the expansive valley and 
the vast range of mountains immediately before us. It was 
over this range that the celebrated Doniphan's Expedition 
passed in 1847, ^^^ of which Hughes wrote : 

This party, in its march, surmounted difficulties of the most 
appalling nature. It passed over craggy mountains of stupen- 
dous height, winding its way up the steep and rugged acclivities, 
each man leading his horse among the slabs and fragments of 
great rocks which lay in confused masses along the sides of 
the mountains, having crumbled from some summit still above, 
obstructing the passway. Precipices and yawning chasms, 
fearful to behold, often left but a narrow passage, where a 
blunder either to the right or left would precipitate horse and 
man hundreds of feet below, among the jagged and pointed 
rocks. Indeed, this party ascended and descended mountains 
where, at first view, every attempt would seem fruitless and 
vain, and where the giddy heights and towering masses of 
granite seem to bid defiance to the puny efforts of man.* 

* Doniphan's Expedition, by Col. John T. Hughes, Cincinnati, 1847. 



44 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Widely traveled Americans who think only of the Rockies 
and the Sierra Nevadas on their way from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific can scarcely realize the majesty of these three 
ranges, the Chusca, Tunicha, and Carrizo, all of which are 
in sight as one enters Chin Lee Valley. The winds, too, 
rush over them at times, bringing fierce and penetrating 
cold from the snow-fields that crown them during a large 
part of the year. It was cold enough for a New England 
winter as we approached, after dark, the cheery light of the 
Franciscan Mission; for this organization of pioneer mis- 
sionaries of the Catholic faith has another outpost of civili- 
zation here, in the very heart of the Navaho reservation. 
With Fr. Leopold's cordial and hearty " Enter and warm 
yourself" in my ears I was at home immediately, and had 
no hesitancy in asking him to arrange the trip for me up 
the world-famous Chelly Canyon — a trip the description 
of which occupies a full chapter elsewhere in these pages. 

Then the question arose : How was I to get on to 
Kayenta? In seeking its solution I talked the matter over 
with Mr. M. E. Kirk, one of the three Indian traders who 
have posts at this place. He solved it instantly, provided 
I was willing to go with two Navaho youths, neither of 
whom could speak a word of English, and ride on the top 
of a heavily loaded wagon and take my chances of it break- 
ing down on the way, sticking fast, or having to complete 
the journey on foot. The more the trip promised of pos- 
sible adventure the better I liked it, and I made my tentative 
arrangements at once. The only drawback was that I could 
not take my heavy camera and plates along, and they had 
to be sent around to meet me at another point. 

When the auspicious morning arrived the wagon was full 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 45 

to overflowing with hay, sacks of grain, boxes of canned 
goods, and the like, and my seat must be wherever I could 
fix myself on the top of the uneasy and unstable mass. I 
had a roll of blankets — for, of course, we were going to 
sleep out of doors, there not being a single house between 
Chin Lee and Kayenta — and enough bread, cheese, and 
canned fruit to last for several days. For drink on these 
trips I am always provided with Horlick's malted milk, 
which can be readily prepared either hot or cold ; and for a 
speedy lunch, when it is not possible even to cut a slice of 
bread, I have a supply of Grant's crackers, made in Berke- 
ley, California, some Horlick's milk and chocolate tablets, 
and a handful of raisins, nuts, or dates. Scores of times in 
my traveling experiences have I sat and munched away, 
with perfect content, at this simple and primitive lunch, 
when perhaps a rain-storm forbade camping, or the swift 
coming of night demanded haste. When one has learned 
from the Indians, as I did thirty years ago, the art of Fletch- 
erizing, and has a reasonably contented mind, such a lunch 
is quite as satisfactory, quite as palatable, when seasoned 
with hunger sauce, as though it were a seven-course dinner 
served at Delmonico's, the Waldorf, the Fairmount, the Pal- 
ace, or the Oakland, prepared by one of the few great cJiefs 
of the American world. 

The time of the year was November, and each morning 
found its coating of hoar frost at this altitude — about 
7,000 feet — which remained for an hour or so after sunrise. 
As soon as the sun set it became bitterly cold, and if the 
wind blew, as it sometimes did, it felt freezingly cold. Of 
course we had no tent, and we camped each night in the 
open. I had plenty of Navaho blankets, and we built a fire 



46 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

for boiling water and cooking, and later made up a rousing 
camp-fire, which was generally replenished and kept going 
all through the night. 

What a ride that was, and how I wish I could give the 
story of each day's experiences in detail. The limitations 
of space forbid. To climb to the top of the load was easy 
enough. My task began when the wagon started and came 
to the rough spots. There was nothing but a natural road, 
and after a few hours this almost entirely disappeared and 
we followed a mere trail, with an occasional wagon-track 
appearing once in a while. The glorious mountains to our 
right in purples, blues, and greens, seamed with black can- 
yons, were crowned with their winter caps of snow and 
arose over ten thousand feet into the purest blue sky that 
ever overarched the home of man. 

Though Mr. Oskison approached Betatakin from the 
opposite direction some of his descriptions will perfectly 
apply : 

Our road ran between the fields and the foot of a shoulder- 
ing wall of red rock, in the fantastically eroded crevices of 
which were erected the brush summer shelters of the families 
(of Navahos) who tilled the fields. Children swarmed over 
the rocks, companions of the goats and the dogs ; old women 
and young sat in highly colored' groups, sheer curiosity lighting 
their faces as we rode past ; in the fields men working delib- 
erately at the corn-stalks, hilled so high that the ears all but 
dragged on the ground ; melons of all shapes, sizes and col- 
ors lay between the widely spaced hills of corn ; here and 
there the more vivid green of an alfalfa patch showed, and 
down by the main wash, on beside the ancient ditches which 
bear the rich, silt-laden water to the fields between rounded 
banks hidden by grass, rose beautiful old cottonwoods. 
There were orchards, too, their fruits ripening to a tempt- 
ing redness. At frames stretched either out of doors or just 





OVER THE ARIZONA DESERT 

TO BETATAKIN AND KITSIEL 




THE ARIZONA DESERT 

ANOTHER VIEW 




CLIFF CITY OF BETATAKIN, ARIZONA 




ANOTHER VIEW OF BETATAKIN 



TO BET AT A KIN AND KITSIEL 4:1 

inside the wide entrances of the brush shelters, women were 
working slowly at the making of blankets ; scarlet strings 
of peppers hung about on poles and over fences, and yellow 
strips of melon (perhaps they were squash) were drying 
beside piles of multi-colored corn-ears. 

Color, vivid and appealing, was everywhere, the more mar- 
velous for its contrast with the pale glory of the desert. 
Unchanging, silently vast, smeared with color! And these 
people ! They aren't Indians, but Orientals.* 

There was one difference, however, very marked, between 
Mr. Oskison's trip and mine. His was in summer — when 
the rains come in this part of Arizona — and mine in the 
beginning of winter. Though I had the cold nights the days 
were crystal clear, bracing and cool, yet warm enough to be 
pleasant. Let the other traveler tell a little more of his 
summer experiences : 

Oh, the weariness of that road ! We plunged, at ten o'clock 
of a blistering morning, into heavy sand of sparse sagebrush. 
The sand dragged at the wheels of our buckboard, the horses 
crawled ; Martin and I tied handkerchiefs over our faces to 
protect our noses and eyelids from the burning reflection of the 
sun on the reddish sand, but Joe drove on unnoticing. 

Mile after mile this road mounted gradually to the backbone 
of a mesa lying parallel with the upper reaches of the wash. 
About noon we looked back and saw through the heat-haze a 
monstrous black thunder-cloud coming across the desert we 
had passed over the day before. An hour later it hit us ; at 
first, instead of rain, this fierce-driven storm hurled sand upon 
us ! Sand in wonderful streamers, sand in high-tossed waves, 
sand in out-spread, obscuring curtains blown fantastically, 
sand in whirling spirals, and sand in dull, level-driven streams 
whipped, stung, and caressed us, sifted into our hair and 
through our clothes. It was a roaring, stunning sort of assault, 
but luckily it came upon us from behind. We plodded on, 
bunched against it under our ponchos, in default of anything 
better to do. Then came the torrent downpour. t 

* Outing Magazine, August, 1914. t Ibid, 



48 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

How mistaken people are who imagine it cannot rain in 
Arizona. Rain ! I have seen it come down in such showers 
that in half a minute one would be wet through and the rain 
slosJiing up out of his boots at each jog of his feet in the 
stirrups. At such times the country " smells " good. The 
rain seems to bring a flavor, an odor of its own along with 
it, and it also persuades the earth to release sweet odors it 
has long stored up in its breast. Then, too, it gives one a 
chance to take a swim now and again — even in the heart 
and heat of the desert. Let Oskison tell how it felt: 

Down the arroyo — now a living stream — we came upon one 
of the loveliest pools I ever saw. It had been ground out of 
the soft rock to a depth of four and a half feet, and in the cen- 
ter was a perfect rock table, its top rising just to the surface of 
the pool. On both sides of the water rose fifteen-foot walls of 
soft rock, closer together at the top than at the pool's edge. 
A tiny waterfall let the flow from the wash into the pool. 

In that pool it was cool — we forgot our weariness there. 
Saddle soreness and the excruciating tenderness of our sand- 
blistered and sand-abraded faces were forgotten. We stayed 
so long in the pool, and took so long a time afterwards to eat 
the good meal we cooked, that there wasn't more than an hour 
of sunlight left when we started on. We knew that it must be 
ten miles or more to Red Lake, and when we struck the road 
through the grease-wood we found that the rain had turned it 
into a nightmare of a road, inches deep with adobe mud, than 
which nothing in the world is more sticky and slippery. 

As we splashed and slid on darkness fell ; then the big full 
moon came up, turning the rain-pools by the road into patches 
of quiet silver. Back and forth across the wide flat, seeking 
the driest going, the vague road to Red Lake meandered ; now 
we rode for a time under the shadow of tall cliffs, then we 
scraped our stirrups against a moonlighted palisade showing 
fantastic carvings and unexpected recesses where branch 
arroyos broke in from the desert above.* 

* Outing Magazine, August, 1914. 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 49 

We had no rain and no sandstorms on our trip, yet I 
have had them again and again at other times, so can fully 
vouch for the truth of these graphic cjuotations. But we 
had adventures of our own. The third day out we came, in 
the afternoon, to a sandy hill up w^hich our horses in vain 
tried to pull the heavily-laden wagon. Useless were all the 
drivers' persuasions. They held the lines in duo, one driving 
the leaders, and the other the wheelers. One whipped his 
pair, the other persuaded his. Then they changed tactics. 
One made a soft hissing noise, .something like that made by 
hostlers when they are grooming their horses, the other 
swore vociferously in Navaho. One invoked, the other 
raved; one pleaded, the other cussed, but seldom did they 
both hit upon the same thing at the same time. We all 
dismounted. I aided them with persuasion and forceful 
ejaculations in good and vigorous English, but there we 
stuck ! All our efforts and endeavors were ineffective, boot- 
less, unavailing, inutile, unprofitable, worthless, fruitless, 
ill-spent, barren — or, to put it in one word of simple Eng- 
lish, supervacaneous. It is an awful thing to find your 
efforts supervacaneous when you are so far away from 
home and friends, sympathy, and help. But there we were ! 
There was nothing else to do but unload. We took out 
about half the boxes, sacks, and bales of hay, and then tried 
again. The broncos had rested while we toiled, so this start 
was successful, and. once started, they were not allowed to 
stop until the worst of the hill was overcome. There was 
another hill, however, a mile or two further on, so the 
Navahos drove on to the top of that and to a fine camping- 
spot in the heart of a cluster of junipers and pinions ere 
they returned to where I remained with the balance of the 



50 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

load. By this time it was quite dark, and on our arrival at 
the camping-place I lit a big bonfire to start with to enable 
them to see while they attended to the stock. ]\Iy big cup 
of hot *' Horlick's " never tasted better nor felt more com- 
forting than that night ; and the great charm about it is that, 
while it is quite as comforting, invigorating, and stimulating 
as coffee, one can lie down, even though he be of my nervous 
temperament, five minutes after drinking it, and almost as 
quickly as it takes me to tell about it, be sound asleep. 

What a glorious outlook was ours when we awoke the 
next morning. Miles and miles and miles we could see in 
every direction, even to the far-away peaks of southern 
Colorado — the snowy-clad La Plata range. The atmos- 
phere was pellucid, the frost sparkling, and it was bright 
and early when we started. 

That day we had two experiences, though several times 
we had to stop, rest, and maneuver ere we could prevail upon 
the broncos to overcome the difficulties of the — what shall 
I call it? Certainly not road. The first came when we 
arrived at a narrow and very deep wash, across which there 
was no road nor bridge. One of the boys went up the wash, 
the other down, to see if there was a more favorable spot 
for us to dig a way across. To go straight across would 
have been impossible, as that would have run the pole into 
the steep bank on the opposite side, or pitched the wagon 
onto the backs of the broncos. I suggested that we make 
an oblique road going down and out on the same line. The 
chief difficulty of this course of procedure is that it racks 
the wagon as it crosses the bottom of the wash. The rear 
wheels are tilted at one angle, while the front ones are 
rudely and jerkily swinging at the opposite angle, and dur- 



TO BET AT A KIN AND KITSIEL 51 

ing the rough swing on the pole the broncos are liable to 
stop. We dug for an hour or more, and then I put my roll 
of bedding in the bottom of the arroyo to help soften the 
shock. After taking out a full half of our load, I stood 
aside to let the Indians perform. One held the lines and 
whip; the other put all his weight upon the upper side of 
the wagon to keep it from tipping; while I helped by holding 
my breath. I was sure they would go over, or smash the 
wagon when they hit the bottom, but I was a false prophet, 
and glad of it, when the wagon reached the top of the other 
side in safety. The Navahos were for unloading and driv- 
ing across again for the other half of the load, but I had had 
enough. I persuaded them to carry the boxes, bales, etc., 
across and reload on the other side. 

Later in the afternoon we came to another sandy and 
steep place, where we stuck fast, and had to do the unload- 
ing, digging out, going on ahead, and returning for the bal- 
ance of the load. I went on with the first half of the load 
and had the fire built, and coffee ready for the Navahos 
when they came up with the balance of the goods, I having 
had my " Horlick's," rolled into my blankets, and had a 
good sleep long before they arrived. 

Who can tell the joy and refreshment of those out-of- 
door sleeps. We had bought two sheep, for food, on our 
way, and I was using one of the sheep-skins as a mattress 
under my blankets. It makes the finest bed in the world 
for out-of-doors sleeping. 

I have said nothing of the mesas and buttes and towers 
we passed and saw shining in the distance. Many of them 
are red sandstone, and in the brilliant vividness of the sun- 
shine they seemed like glorified homes of angels of light. 



52 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Two particularly prominent features demanded attention 
for at least three days, before we came anywhere near to 
them. One was a very sharp pointed mass of red sand- 
stone called Agathla's Needle, and the other a Gothic cathe- 
dral of such vast dimensions that it would house any ten 
cathedrals of Europe and then leave room for all the 
reverent worshippers of Arizona to assemble within its 
walls. 

Kayenta is the last outpost of civilization in the United 
States, and yet it is full of the surprises of culture. Mrs. 
Wetherill is a lady of refinement and education; surrounded 
with her books, her organ, her choice antique and modern 
china, and herself radiating everything charming, gracious, 
and entertaining. Her husband was away with a well- 
known Eastern millionaire and his wife, taking them on a 
camping-out trip to all the wonders of which this chapter 
is merely a hint. His partner, Mr. C. A. Colville, is a well- 
read, thoughtful, courteous, obliging gentleman, just such 
an one as it is a delight to meet in such an out-of-the-way 
place. I was soon made to feel at home, and when Mrs. 
Wetherill favored me with a sight of her charts of the vari- 
ous mosaic sand-altars of the Navaho medicine men; altars 
no other white person known has ever been privileged to see, 
and told me the story of their ritual and the ceremonies 
connected with them, the reader may perhaps begin to con- 
ceive the happiness I felt, but, unless he himself is touched 
with a similar "bug" of desire to know, he can never get 
further than a slight touch of comprehension. 

For two days I enjoyed these revelations, though the win- 
dows had to be screened and the doors locked lest any 
Navaho unceremoniously march in upon us. This would 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 53 

have meant disaster, most probably, for the one guiUy of 
revealing these sacred mysteries, and for those to whom the 
secrets were given. 

Hence I was saturated with the feeling, the atmosphere, 
the spirit of the Indian, and his ceremonial life, his marvel- 
ous environment, and his religious aspirations, when I 
started with a white guide and a renegade Navaho to see the 
ruins of Betatakin and Kitsiel. 

My Navaho was a joy to look upon. His face was 
of bronze. Its deep furrows revealed wide, long, large 
experience, and the development of rugged and stalwart 
character. His eye was as clear as a limpid pool of purest 
water — the eye I have never found except in a poet or man 
of genius — and it spoke of serenity, calmness,' self-poise. 
He was one of the old men of the old school. Nothing 
about him spoke of anything later than the Spaniard. He 
had no American article either of clothing or horse-equip- 
ment. His saddle was made upon a rude native tree, which, 
however, affords one of the most comfortable seats for 
long riding I have ever enjoyed. And as I can take my 
hundred miles a day for a month w^ithout whimpering, I 
think I can claim to know something about a comfortable 
saddle. The leather — or hide, rather — is put on while 
green and fastened to the tree with brass-headed nails. 

The forehead of my Indian was partially covered with 
the handa that surrounded his head and held back the hair 
in front. At the back it was done up in a queue, somewhat 
after the Chinese fashion, and then doubled over and over 
again, until it was about eight or ten inches long and two 
or three inches thick. Around this a narrow woven sash in 
brilliant colors, mainly red, was wrapped. His shoulders 



54 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

were bare but his torso was covered with the merest apol- 
ogy for a shirt-waist made of buckskin, the inside dyed with 
a powdered mineral oxide largely used for this purpose. 
His trousers and mocassins were of the same material, and 
over all and around him was wrapped a fine blanket which 
gave an added dignity to the natural power of his poise. 
For he stood over six feet high, and though fully sixty 
years old, walked and rode with the ease, grace, and spring- 
iness of a youthful athlete. His hands and wrists were as 
slender and tapered as those of a refined woman's, and he 
was as proud of them as the haughtiest dame that ever sat 
upon a throne. He wore a pair of earrings of turquoise 
and shell mosaic, a well-made native ring of silver in which 
a turquoisd was set, and around his neck was a string of 
silver beads to every ten of which a cross was attached, and 
at the end of which hung a triple crescent set with turquoise. 
This was fine but comparatively modern. It had belonged 
to his grandfather; but he also wore a wampum — or shell- 
bead — necklace, where pieces of turquoise alternated with 
every three or four beads. This was his pride and joy. 
It was older to him than Betatakin and Kitsiel. It had 
come down from his ancestors who lived before these cliff- 
dwellings were built. And while it may seem absurd to 
some of my readers to relate it, I asked him how much he 
would sell it for, and he laughed when, after repeated offers, 
I finally offered him four hundred dollars, which he as 
positively refused as the twenty-five dollars with which I 
first started. In order to make up again I had to explain 
to him that I had merely done this to satisfy a white friend 
who had commissioned me to buy a real antique necklace 
at any price. 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 55 

We three sat around the camp-fire that night, and when 
my Navaho friend — as I feel I am entitled to call him by 
now — learned that I was familiar with some of the most 
sacred of his rites and ceremonies, he spoke to me freely 
of the myths and legends of his people. 

Early the next morning we pushed on down Laguna 
Creek and then into the side gorge, at the head of which 
we were to find Betatakin. I was riding along just behind 
the Navaho, thinking over what he had told me, and occa- 
sionally questioning him, when suddenly he stopped and 
pointed. There, ahead, was Betatakin. And here may I, 
in accordance with my plan to introduce as much as prac- 
ticable of the worth-while writings of others to describe the 
effect of Arizona upon them, let Mr. Oskison tell how he 
felt in the presence : 

For fifteen minutes, I suppose, we were keyed to the highest 
point of expectancy. Up and up, the tiny stream was leading 
us, over rougher and rougher heaps of huge boulders, between 
greener and greener tangles of cottonwood,- willows, birches, 
tall rushes, and waving vines ; and still the towering cliff-face 
was unbroken. 

Then Martin, walking two steps ahead, suddenly stopped 
and put his hand out towards me. I came up to feel his fingers 
grip my shoulder. There, wholly revealed, was Betatakin, a 
long line of ruins arched over by a span of rock which leaps 
to such a height that it takes your breath away. Clear above 
the tree-tops it all rose, a dead city set in a perpendicular cliff- 
face and now untouched by any ray of sunlight. 

" I have waited here forever," it said to us, " untroubled 
through the years, above that tangle of reaching green. I have 
sat here serene, watching the suns come and go, welcoming my 
people in the days when they came dragging tired feet up the 
canyon, echoing the laughter and the wailing and the weak 
cr}ang of the men and women and babies who came to me, 
indifferent to their departure, bearing with the few explorers 



56 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

who have come to dig among my ruins, waiting for the slow 
disintegration of time — and now you have come!" 

Dead silence, and a sort of terror — what is called awe, I 
suppose — for the first minute. Then, quietly, we scrambled 
up the last few hundred feet of vague trail to the lovely 
dripping-spring which issues from under the foot of the ruins. 

We climbed up the narrow trail, stepping across piled shards, 
testing the strength of dirt-covered roofs that had lasted no 
one knows how many centuries, peeping through to cubicle 
interiors where the cliff-dwellers had conducted the business 
of living. Our eyes searched eagerly the face of the rock- 
shelter against which these rooms had been built, and we 
climbed ever higher as the ruins led up the pitched plane of 
the shelf on which they reste^J. 

Then at about the middle of the long, flat arc of ruined 
dwellings, as we stood with our backs to the wall of rock, we 
turned our eyes outwards and upwards. What a sensation we 
had ! Leaning far over us and framing the opposite red wall , 
of the canyon a quarter of a mile away as well as a section of 
pale sky above it, the arch of rock, like some giant cathedral 
arch, curved eight hundred feet above us. 

" Say ! " gasped Martin, " I never suspected anything so 
stupefying! Why, these people — think of living here, in a 
frame like this ! " 

Martin's voice awoke a splendid echo; and we shouted. 
Up the curving vault to the top of the great arch rolled the 
reverberations and dropped again, until it seemed to me that 
the sound must carry half across Arizona. Think of having 
this wonderfully perfect sounding-board (six hundred feet 
from edge to edge and eight hundred feet from base to top) 
behind a chorus of strong-lunged singers ! I tried to imagine 
what the toilers up the canyon or the climbers on the opposite 
cliff in ancient times must have heard in seasons of ceremonial- 
chants which rose slow and soft, then a little more rapidly, 
louder and higher, faster and more shrill as the fever waked 
in primitive blood, and culminating in such a maddening roll 
and sweep of ecstacy that the mountains were filled with sound ; 
or the minor sweet songs of the women, who crushed the corn 
and baked the meat while they sat close to their skin-swathed 



TO BET AT A KIN AND KIT SI EL 57 

babies ; or tbe hail of some deep-chested sentinel from the 
topmost roof.* 

While Betatakin is a cliff-dwelling it is not perched high 
upon a tremendously precipitous cliff as are so many of the 
Arizona ruins. It is on the right-hand side of the " head " 
of the canyon where, alone, a mass of talus has fallen and 
up which the winding trail leads to the dwellings at their 
extreme right. This is the only method of access, as the 
rest of the ledge overlooks a direct precipice clear across 
to the other side. 

President Taft, after seeing the report of Mr. W. B. 
Douglass, United States Examiner of Surveys, declared 
it a National Monument, and it is now, therefore, under 
federal protection. 

To attempt to enter into a detailed description of Betata- 
kin would be impossible in this book, hence if the reader is 
desirous of further knowledge I must refer him to my more 
extensive work devoted to this subject alone. f 

While Kitsiel in many respects is equally interesting with 
Betatakin, our visit there must be brief. We camped out 
under a singing pinion tree that night, glad of the shelter 
from the cold wind, and made an early start next morning. 
We did not stop for lunch, a few Horlick's tablets and a 
couple of Grant's crackers giving me complete satisfaction. 
It was getting late as it was ere we reached the ruin. Wide, 
like the other, yet not half the distance, hovered over by a 
magnificent arch, it presents the appearance of a line of 
houses of two, three or more stories high, terraced and 

* Outing Magazine, August, 1914. 

t The Prehistoric Cliff -Dzvellings of the Southwest. Little, Brown & 
Go., Boston. 



58 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

retiring into the recess, built within the shelter of an irregu- 
lar gigantic oval. Indeed it looks as if a great flat onion 
had been taken out of it, and one half of the mould had 
disappeared also. 

The shadows played hide and seek with the houses, some 
of them receiving but little of the sun except at midday, 
for the ruin, being on one side of the canyon, with over- 
hanging shelter at each end, it is protected perfectly from 
sun, rain, and wind. It is far easier of approach than 
Betatakin, though in general appearance the houses are 
very much alike. The eye, however, is first of all arrested 
by a huge log, under which one must pass to reach the 
rooms above.- This log was once used to help hold a retain- 
ing wall, but the wall is wrecked by the slipping away of 
the stones which now lie at the foot of the cliff. 

The chief point of difference between Kitsiel and Betata- 
kin lies in the number of khas — sacred ceremonial cham- 
bers — where much of their wonderful ritual is to this day 
performed by the Pueblos even as it used to be in the far- 
away past by the Cliff-dwellers. At the latter place there 
are no circular kivas, but Kitsiel has eight, complete or in 
ruins. The side walls vary in thickness from one to two 
feet and are built of stone laid in clay mortar, and are by 
far the finest pieces of masonry in the village. They are 
from twelve to fifteen feet in diameter. 

I stayed at Kitsiel until it grew quite dark, and both my 
guides were impatient to be off. Personally it would have 
been a pleasure to spend the night in the ruins, but neither 
of them seemed to enjoy the suggestion, so I did not press it. 
Yet, as I rolled into my blankets that night, my feet to the 
camp-fire, I could not help asking myself many direct and 




Photo by S. M. Young 







Two Views of Kitsiel. the 
Ruined Cliff City of 
Arizona 



^.1 



TO BET AT AKIN AND KITSIEL 59 

searching questions as to how much farther advanced in 
7'cal life we are today than the ancient Cliff-dweller. Are 
we healthier, happier, kinder, more useful? For, after all, 
what is advancement in civilization if it leaves out these 
important phases of life? 

There are many other ruins in this region, but none as 
important as these. I left Kayenta more than satisfied 
with my visit and deeply grateful to Mrs. Wetherill and 
Mr. Colville for their helpfulness. 

The return trip was made partially on horse-back, par- 
tially in the wagon of a Mormon teamster, and the last lap 
in an automobile from Fruitland to Farmington, New Mex- 
ico, from which point I took a horse and buggy and drove, 
alone, over the wild wastes to the interesting ruins of the 
Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. 



CHAPTER V 
THE CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF THE MESA VERDE 

UNDOUBTEDLY of all the cliff-dwellings yet discov- 
ered none are so well known as those of the Mesa 
Verde in Southwestern Colorado. There has been much 
written about them, both of a popular and of a scientific 
character, and they are, in themselves, most interesting; and 
when their picturesque environment is considered, it is no 
wonder they have attracted so much attention. 

Possibly Newberry was the first American explorer to 
see and describe to the world the wonders of the Mesa 
Verde, and the vast number of ruins found there and in 
the adjacent country, but his report made nothing like the 
impression produced by that of W. H. Jackson, a member 
of the Hayden Geological Survey of Colorado, who, in 
1874-5, found this region and was detailed by his superior 
to make a fairly comprehensive study of the subject. His 
report was published in 1876, in the Annual Report of the 
Hayden Survey for 18/4. 

The following year W. H. Holmes, one of the geologists 
of the expedition, the dean of all scientific students of the 
Southwest, and controlling the destinies of the Smithsonian 
Institution and the collections of the National Museum, was 
detailed to accompany Jackson for the purpose of making 
further studies, and they included in their investigations the 
ancient ruins of the San Juan River region. Their report 

60 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF MESA VERDE 61 

was published in the Bulletin of the Hayden Survey, Vol. II, 
No. I. 

The region, however, was too vast for mere cursory- 
investigation. Jackson and Holmes, had they had more 
time, undoubtedly would have penetrated further into the 
mazes of canyons of the Mesa Verde and there discovered 
the ruins that, a few years later, were to cause considerable 
stir and make the names of the cowboys (the Wetherill 
brothers) who discovered them world famous. 

In 1892 Frederick Hastings Chapin, a New Englander 
who had spent several vacations rambling in the high 
Rockies, published, in The Land of the CUff-Dzvellers, 
accounts of his various investigations of some of the ruins 
of the Mesa Verde. He was the first to exploit the dis- 
coveries of the Wetherills of the Cliff-Palace, and from this 
time undoubtedly dates a great increase in popular interest. 
He claims that it was owing to the hostility of the Ute 
Indians that no further exploring was done after Jackson's 
and Holmes's visits, until the country began to be settled up 
by ranchers, and the Wetherills made their discoveries. In 
the first flush of their marvelously interesting finds, Chapin 
came upon them, and accompanied them upon some of their 
trips. In the chapter on Mancos Canyon, in his book, he 
describes several cliff-dwellings that escaped the notice of 
Jackson and Holmes, and also corrects an error in the 
statement of the former to the effect that no dwellings 
were to be found on the eastern side of the canyon. He 
claims that "some of the finest ruins have been discovered 
upon the eastern face of the cliffs." 

In the next chapter he proceeds to describe ruins found in 
Acowitz Canyon. This is a canyon that joins Mancos from 



62 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the east, and is one of the finest of the side gorges. Ascend- 
ing to the top of the mesa, Chapin, with a friend named 
Howard, and Richard and John Wetherill, proceeded to the 
ruins. 

But by far the most strikingly picturesque ruin of the 
Mesa Verde is the Cliff-Palace. Here is Baron Norden- 
skiold's story of its discovery : 

The researches of Holmes and Jackson were until very re- 
cently the main sources of our information as to the ruins of 
Southwestern Colorado. The cliff-dwellings which they saw 
and described are, however, small and insignificant in com- 
parison with those discovered in recent times. [This was 
written in 1893.] If they had only left Mancos Canyon and 
followed one of its northern lateral canyons for a few kilo- 
meters, they would have found ruins so magnificent that they 
surpass anything of the kind known in the United States. 
The honor of the discovery of these remarkable ruins belongs 
to Richard and Alfred Wetherill of Mancos. The family 
own large herds of cattle, which wander about on the Mesa 
Verde. The care of these herds often calls for long rides 
on the Mesa and in its labyrinth of canyons. During these 
long excursions, ruins, the one more magnificent than the 
other, have been discovered. The two largest were found by 
Richard Wetherill and Charley Mason one December day in 
1888, as they were riding together through the pinion wood 
on the Mesa, in search of a stray herd. They had penetrated 
through the dense scrub to the edge of a deep canyon. In 
the opposite cliff, sheltered by a huge, massive vault of rock, 
there lay before their astonished eyes a whole town, with 
towers and walls, rising out of a heap of ruins. This grand 
monument of bygone ages seemed to them well deserving of 
the name of Cliff-Palace. Not far from this place, but in a 
different canyon, they discovered on the same day another 
very large cliff-dwelling; to this they gave the name of Spruce- 
tree House, from a great spruce that jutted forth from the 
ruins.* 

* The Cliff-DzvelUngs of the Mesa Verde, by Gustav Nordenskiold, 
Stockholm, 1893. 




I i 



CLIFF-DWELLINGS OF MESA VERDE 63 

The following is the first account ever written of the 
discovery, and as it is generally accurate, it is particularly 
of interest : 

Narrow, winding defiles, precipitous walls, bold headlands, 
and overhanging ledges are the characteristics of Cliff Canyon, 
and within its labyrinths are most remarkable ruins. Here it 
was that Richard Wetherill found a large structure, which he 
has called the " ClifT-Palace." This ruin, which is situated in 
a branch of the left hand fork, can be reached in about five 
hours from Mancos Canyon. A long day's ride over the mesa 
from the ranches will also accomplish the distance, but the 
journey from the Mancos is by far the easier of the two. 

On reaching the brink of the canyon opposite the wonderful 
structure, the observer cannot but be astonished at the first 
sight of the long line of solid masonry which he beholds across 
the chasm, here but a thousand feet wide. In the first burst 
of enthusiasm it strikes one as being the ruins of a great 
palace erected by some powerful chieftain of the lost people. 
The best time to see the ruin is in the afternoon, when the sun 
is shining into the cavern. The effect is much finer than when 
viewed in the morning. Surely its discoverer did not ex- 
aggerate the beauty and magnitude of this strange ruin. It 
occupies a great space under a grand oval clifT, appearing like 
a ruined fortress, with ramparts, bastions, and dismantled tow- 
ers. The stones in front have broken away; but behind them 
rise the walls of a second story, and in the rear of these, in 
under the dark cavern, stands the third tier of masonry. Still 
farther back in the gloomy recess, little houses rest on upper 
ledges. A short distance down the canyon are cosy buildings 
perched in utterly inaccessible nooks. The scenery is marvelous ; 
the view down the canyon to the Mancos alone is worth the 
journey to see. 

To reach the ruin, one must descend into the canyon from 
the opposite side. What would otherwise be a hazardous pro- 
ceeding is rendered easy by using the steps which were cut 
in the wall by the builders of the fortress. There are fifteen 
of these scooped-out hollows in the rocks which cover perhaps 
half of the distance down the precipice. At that point the 



64 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

cliff has probably fallen away ; but, luckily for the purpose 
of the adventurer, a dead tree leans against the wall, and de- 
scending into its branches, he can reach the base of the parapet. 
One wonders at the good preservation of these hand-holes in 
the rocks ; even small cuttings, to give place for a finger, are 
sometimes placed exactly right even in awkward places. It is evi- 
dent why they were so placed, and that they have not been 
changed by the forces of the air in the several hundred years 
that have probably elapsed since they were chipped out by an 
axe made of firmer rock. There occurs to my mind but one 
explanation of this preservation : erosion by wind is one of 
the important factors in chiseling rock forms about the Man- 
cos, and as we observed sand in these hollows, we suppose the 
wind at times keeps the grains eddying round, and thus the 
erosion in the depression keeps pace, perhaps even gains, on 
the rate of denudation of the smooth cliffs. 

It takes but a few minutes to cross the canyon bed. In the 
bottom is a secondary gulch, which requires care in descending. 
We hung a rope or lasso over some steep smooth ledges, and 
let ourselves down by it. We left it hanging there, and used it 
to ascend by on our return. 

Nearer approach increases the interest in the marvel. From 
the south end of the ruin which is first attained, trees hide the 
northern walls ; yet the view is beautiful. The space covered 
by the building is four hundred and twenty-five feet long, 
eighty feet high in front, and eighty feet deep in the center. 
One hundred and twenty- four rooms have been traced out on 
the ground floor. So many walls have fallen that it is difficult 
to reconstruct the building in imagination ; but the photographs 
show that there must have been several stories ; thus a thousand 
persons may easily have lived within its confines. There are 
towers and circular rooms, square and rectangular enclosures, 
all with a seeming symmetry, though in some places the walls 
look as if they had been put up as additions in later periods. 
One of the towers is barrel-shaped ; others are true cylinders. 
The diameter of one circular room, or estufa, is sixteen feet 
and six inches ; there are six piers in it, which are well 
plastered, and five recess holes, which appear as if constructed 
for shelves. In several rooms are good fireplaces. One of 



CLIFF-DIV ELLIN GS OF MESA VERDE 65 

our party built a fire in the largest one, which had a flue, but 
found the draught too strong, for his light wood came near 
going up with the smoke. In another room, where the outer 
walls have fallen away, an attempt was made at ornamenta- 
tion : a broad band had been painted across the wall, and 
above it is a peculiar decoration which is shown in one of the 
illustrations. The lines were similar to embellishment on the 
pottery which we found. In one place corncobs are imbedded 
in the plaster in the walls, showing that the cob is as old as 
that portion of the building. The cobs, as well as kernels 
of corn which we found, are of small size, similar to what the 
Ute squaws raise now without irrigation. Besides corn, it is 
known that the race of ClifT-Dwellers raised beans and squash; 
we frequently picked up stems of the latter. It is not known 
that they owned domestic animals, but they had turkeys. We 
found a large stone mortar, which may have been used to 
grind the corn. Broken pottery was everywhere, similar to 
specimens which we had collected in among the valley ruins, 
convincing us of the identity of the builders of the two classes 
of houses ; and we found parts of skulls and bones, fragments 
of weapons, and pieces of cloth. One nearly complete skeleton 
lies on a wall, waiting for some future antiquarian. The 
burial-place of the clan was found under the rear of the cave. 

Notwithstanding the imposing name which we have given 
it, and which its striking appearance seems to justify, it was 
a communistic dwelling. There is no hall leading through it, 
and no signs that it was a home prepared for a ruler of the 
people. It owes its beauty principally to the remains of two 
towers ; it probably owes its magnitude to the fact that the 
length of the platform and depth and height of the natural 
arch allowed of such a building in such a remote quarter. 

Naturally this huge ruin interested us as much as anything 
that we met with in our trips. It deserves study by expert 
archaeologists. Thorough and careful excavation would per- 
haps reveal many relics which might throw light on the early 
history of the primitive inhabitants. It is to be hoped, how- 
ever, that any work which may be done here in the future will 
be carried on under competent supervision, and that the walls 
will not be damaged in any way. Collectors, so far, have been 



66 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

very thoughtful. With a suitable appropriation, this structure 
could be converted into a museum, and be filled with relics of 
the lost people, and become one of the attractions of Southern 
Colorado.* 

This suggestion of Mr. Chapin has been carried out. The 
government has restored it under the able direction of Dr. 
Fewkes, who has also prepared a beautifully illustrated 
Bulletin, No. 41, describing the ruin in detail, and it is now 
one of the carefully-guarded national monuments of the 
public domain. This and a companion Bulletin, No. 57, one 
dealing wn'th the Cliff-Palace and the other with the Spruce- 
tree House, may be had on application to the Superin- 
tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, on payment of a 
small sum. A free pamphlet is also issued by the govern- 
ment which may be had from the Superintendent of the 
Mesa Verde National Park, Mancos, Colorado, which gives 
full particulars of how best to reach and see all the antiquities 
of this fascinating region. 

* The Land of the Cliff-Dwellers, by F. H. Chapin. W. B. Clarke & 
Co., Boston, 1892. 



CHAPTER VI 

OLD SANTA FE AND THE LAND OF THE DELIGHT 

MAKERS 

ONE of the most fascinating books ever written on the 
Southwest, and not less instructive than fascinating, 
is Adolf Bandelier's The Delight Makers. Unfortunately, 
it is now out of print — a reflection upon the wisdom and 
patriotism of the people of the United States, for this book 
should be read and studied in every high school and college 
in the land, as a textbook on aboriginal life. In its preface 
Professor Bandelier says : 

The greater part was composed in 1885, ^t Santa Fe. . . . 
I was prompted to perform the work by a conviction that how- 
ever scientific works may tell the truth about the Indian, they 
exercise always a limited influence upon the general public; 
and to that public, in our country as well as abroad, the Indian 
has remained as good as unknown. By clothing sober facts in 
the garb of romance I have hoped to make the "Truth about 
the Pueblo Indians" more accessible and perhaps more ac- 
ceptable to the public in general. 

The Delight Makers, themselves, were the members of a 
society of fun-producers, professional clowns, vaudeville 
performers, whose duty it was to create amusement for the 
Indians at their annual festivities. And these Indians were 
among the number of the cliff and cave-dwellers of the 
Southwest. Their home was in the mountains some twenty 
miles west of Santa Fe, skirting the Rio Grande River. 

67 



68 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

While the mountains appear bald-crested, dark, and forbid- 
ding, they conceal and shelter in their deep gorges and clefts 
many a spot of great natural beauty, surprisingly picturesque, 
but difficult of access. From the river these canyons can be 
reached only by dint of toilsome climbing and clambering; for 
their western openings are either narrow gaps, or access to 
them is barred by colossal walls and pillars of volcanic rocks. 
The entire formation of the chain, as far as it faces the Rio 
Grande, is volcanic; the walls of the gorges consisting generally 
of a friable white or yellowish tufa containing nodules of 
black, translucent obsidian. The rock is so soft that in many 
places it can be scooped out or detached with the most primitive 
tools, or even with the fingers alone. Owing to this peculiarity 
the slopes exposed to the south and east, whence most of the 
heavy rains strike them, are invariably abrupt, and often even 
perpendicular ; whereas the opposite declivities, though steep, 
still afford room for scanty vegetation. The gorges run from 
west to east ; that is, they descend from the mountain crests 
to the Rio Grande, cutting the long and narrow pedestal on 
which the high summits are resting. 

Through some but not all of these gorges run never- failing 
streams of clear water. In a few instances the gorge expands 
and takes the proportions of a narrow vale. Then the high 
timber that usually skirts the rivulets shrinks to detached 
groves, and patches of clear land appear, which, if cultivated, 
would afford scanty support to one or two modern families. 
To the village Indian such tillable spots were of the greatest 
value. The deep ravine afforded shelter not only against the 
climate but against roving enemies, and the land was sufficient 
for his modest crops ; since his wants were limited and game 
was abundant. 

The material of which the walls of these canyons are com- 
posed, suggested in times past to the house-building Indian 
the idea of using them as a home. The tufa and pumice stone 
are so friable that, as we have said, the rock can be dug or 
burrowed with the most primitive implements. It was easier, 
in fact, to excavate dwellings than to pile up walls in the 
open air. 

Therefore the northern sides of these secluded gorges are 



LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS 69 

perforated in many places by openings similar in appearance 
to pigeon holes. These openings are the points of exit and 
entrance of artificial caves, dug out by sedentary aborigines 
in times long past. They are met with in clusters of as many 
as several hundred ; more frequently, however, the groups are 
small. Sometimes two or more tiers of caves are superim- 
posed. From the objects scattered about and in the cells, and 
from the size and disposition of the latter, it becomes evident 
that the people who excavated and inhabited them were on the 
same level of culture as the so-called Pueblo Indian of New 
Mexico.* 

The most interesting of these canyons, and the cliff- 
dwellings found therein, is that of the Rito de los Frijoles. 
The lower five miles of its course is the important section, 
and in this a stretch covering less than two miles contains 
the dwellings we are to visit. The northern wall of the Rito 
is a bold escarpment from 200 to 300 feet in height, rising 
above a sloping talus. The southern wall, on the other 
hand, is gently sloping, fairly well timbered and grassed, 
and possesses none of the bold mural faces that characterize 
its opposing wall. All along the foot of this northern wall, 
for a mile and a quarter, extend the cliff -houses of the people 
of the Delight Makers. On the floor of the valley are the 
remains of four great community houses, possibly some- 
thing after the style of those we have seen at Taos, though 
the ground plan of the chief one shows it to have been cir- 
cular in form. 

This circular house, know'n as the Tyuonyi, was built of 
blocks of volcanic tufa, regular in construction, and three 
stories high, the three-storied wall outside, and the ter- 
races thus facing the inner court. Unlike most of the com- 

* The Delight Makers, by A. F. Bandelier. Dodd, Mead & Co., New 
York, 1890. 



70 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

mimity houses found in the Southwest, which generally are 
built without any preconceived plan, being added to as cir- 
cumstances require, this gives evidence of having been care- 
fully constructed on a laid-out scheme. It could easily and 
quickly have been made into a fortress, for the only en- 
trance to the inner court was through a narrow passageway 
on the eastern side. This was defended with a double sys- 
tem of barricades, and on an emergency could have been 
completely closed up. 

On the rim of the mesa above, near the southern brink 
of the canyon, was another community house, so the indi- 
cations are that the Rito at one time was fairly populous. 

Professor Bandelier thus writes of the Rito : 

The Rito is a beautiful spot. It is a narrow valley, nowhere 
broader than half a mile ; and from where it begins in the 
west to where it closes in a dark and gloomy entrance, scarcely 
wide enough for two men to pass abreast, in the east, its length 
does not exceed six miles. Its southern rim is formed by the 
slope of a timbered mesa, and that slope is partly overgrown 
by shrubbery. The northern border constitutes a lint\ of 
vertical cliffs of yellowish and white pumice, projecting and 
reentering like decorations of a stage — now perpendicular and 
smooth for some distance, now sweeping back in the shape of 
an arched segment. These cliffs vary in height, although no- 
where are they less than two hundred feet. Their tops rise 
in huge pillars, in crags and pinnacles. Brushwood and pine 
timber crown the mesa of which these fantastic projections are 
but the shaggy border. 

Through the vale itself rustles the clear and cool brook to 
which the name of Rito de los Frijoles is applied. It meanders 
on, hugging the southern slope, partly through open spaces, 
partly through groves of timber, and again past tall stately pine 
trees standing isolated in the valley. Willows, cherry trees, 
cottonwoods, and elders form small thickets along its banks. 
The Rito is a permanent streamlet notwithstanding its small 




■\"*« 



^iiiiirf -' 








O "^ 




Courtesy of Dciii'cr & Rio Gram/c /?. R. 

lU'lXS OF rUYE 

TAjAKlTO I'AkK, NEW MEXICO 








' < 



Coiirtcxy of BiircaK of .1 lucrlcaii / 

CAVE-DWELLiXG RUINS AT I'LYE 



LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS 71 

size. Its water freezes in winter, but it never dries up com- 
pletely during the summer months. 

Bunches of tall grass, low shrubbery, and cactus grow in 
the open spaces between rock debris fallen from above. They 
also cover in part low mounds of rubbish, and ruins of a large 
pentagonal building erected formerly at the foot of a slope 
leading to the clififs. In the cliffs themselves, for a distance of 
about two miles, numerous caves dug out by the hand of man 
are visible. Some of these are yet perfect ; others have wholly 
crumbled away except the rear wall. From a distance the 
portholes and indentations appear like so many pigeons' nests 
in the naked rock. Together with the cavities formed by 
amygdaloid chambers and crevices caused by erosion, they give 
the cliffs the appearance of a huge, irregular honeycomb.* 

During the past few years the Society of American 
Archaeology has been doing considerable excavation work 
in the Rito and other cliff-dwelling canyons of the Rio 
Grande country. It has become, therefore, the one spot in 
this portion of the Southwest where the life and culture of 
the Pueblo Indians of the past can best be studied. With 
Professor Bandelier's book in hand, after a brief study of 
the ruins, one can reconstruct the life of this primitive peo- 
ple. In Chapter vi we are given a most vivid and enter- 
taining picture of the festival occasion in w^hich the Delight 
Makers especially shone. 

See the procession of the dancers. They approach slowly, 
moving with a rhythmic shuffling- forward of the feet, kept 
in time by the penetrating and insistent note of the drum. 
Now the men begin to leap up and down in their fantastic 
dance step, while the women still maintain their foot-shufif- 
ling progress. All are tricked out in their gaudiest finery, 
and their faces and the partially nude bodies of the men are 

* The Delight Makers, pp. 3, 4. 



72 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

streaked, splotched, and daubed over with whitewash. For 
some time a chorus of men's voices has been heard, strong, 
resonant, untrained, but impressive and forceful. They fol- 
low the dancers, and as they advance they gesticulate with 
their hands and arms, as if seeking to interpret the words 
of their song. The drummer is an old man, adorned with 
an eagle's feather behind each ear. The drum is made of a 
portion of a hollow tree, over each end of which green raw- 
hide was stretched, the two ends bound together with lacing 
strips, which, when dried, tightened the drumhead almost 
as effectively as the mechanical methods followed today. 

The whole population of the Rito listens to this primitive 
concert and watches this primitive dance with profound 
interest, the spectators crowded on the roof of the great 
terraced house. Bye and bye, however, they begin to com- 
ment, critically and with the utmost freedom, upon what 
they see. Everything comes in for their scrutiny and verbal 
castigation. Men laugh, jeer, mimic, and poke fun and 
women do the same, selecting any one, of either sex, as the 
object of their humor. 

Suddenly half a dozen clowns, stark naked save for 
raes:ed breech clouts, their bodies and faces daubed as are 
those of modern clowns in a circus, come running, hopping, 
rolling, stumbling, capering, frolicking into the inner court. 
They are greeted with laughter and boisterous expressions 
of mirth. These are the real Delight Makers, whose busi- 
ness it is to make fun for the people. To attempt to describe 
their rude, often coarse, sallies, their jests, horseplay, grim- 
aces, practical jokes, mimicry, foolery, and wild capers 
would occupy many pages. 

In the meantime, in the sacred underground chamber, the 



LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS 73 

Kiva, the chief medicine man is preparing the aUar for the 
prayers of this festival day. The dancing, frolicking, and 
fun are all a part of the religious ceremonies. Rude, foolish, 
ribald, and coarse as they seem to us, they have a profound 
significance to this religious people. These frolics help to 
banish gloom, mourning, evil thoughts, ill will, hatred — 
hence are good and meet with the approval of Those Above. 
These simple people firmly believed that whoever mourns 
or harbors ill will cannot expect his task to prosper. There- 
fore to sow a field of corn, beans, melons, or squashes with 
evil in his heart would be to ensure failure. 

Following the dance the more formal prayers were of- 
fered in the Kiva, gifts made to the gods, and then the final 
dance performed. Here is Bandelier's graphic picture : 

The singers were reinforced by several aged men with 
snow-white hair, three of whom wore dark wraps, sleeveless 
and covered with red embroidery. These were the chief peni- 
tents ; those without badges or distinctive dress, the principal 
shamans (medicine men) of the tribe. A thrill of excitement 
ran through the spectators ; children on the roofs gathered in 
groups, moving in harmony with the strong rhythmic noise 
below. The jesters had become very quiet; they went about 
gravely keeping order, for the court was now filled with per- 
formers. The green headdresses waved like reeds before the 
wind, and the whole space looked like a rhythmically wafted 
cornfield. When the dancers were executing the beautiful 
figure of the planting of the maize, man and woman bending 
outward simultaneously, each one to his side, and all the rattles 
sounding as if upon command — everything around was 
hushed ; everybody looked on in respectful silence, so correct 
were the motions, so well-timed and so impressive the sight.* 

Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico and the heart 
of this cliff-dwelling region, is itself a fascinating, romantic, 
* The Delight Makers, pp. 152, 153. 



74 OVR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

and historic place. Redolent of memories of the old Con- 
quistadorcs, it owns one of the oldest churches in the United 
States, and is the proud possessor of the only Governor's 
Palace the country affords. Walls six feet thick are said to 
cover the remnants of pueblo houses, with their conical fire- 
places, corn storages, and meal bins, and the old beams of 
the ceiling have looked down upon as varied and remarkable 
a history as any room in America has had. For here the 
Spanish governors lived and played, worked and schemed, 
loved and hated, slept and dreamed. Here came, according 
to Bandelier, one of the murderers of the great French 
explorer. La Salle. Pursued by the memory of his hideous 
crime, Jean L'Archeveque, the French-Canadian youth, 
wandered from the scene of the murder on Trinity Bay, 
Texas, to this out-of-the-way spot, where he was engaged 
by the Spanish governor, and lived at Santa Clara and San 
Ildefonso, until a violent death removed him. 

What bloody scenes were witnessed here in the Pueblo 
Indian rebellion of 1680 ! Pope, an aboriginal patriot, arose 
and denounced the Spaniards, but went farther. He was a 
man endued with the military spirit of action. With other 
brave men he plotted the complete overthrow of the hated 
invaders, and set the day for the uprising that should cast 
them forth or slay them — men, women, and children, and 
especially the hated long-gowns — the Franciscan friars. 
The Spanish governor, Otermin, got news of the plot and 
it was partially frustrated in that the patriots were forced 
to a premature uprising. But it was fearfully disastrous 
to Spanish rule. Hundreds were slain, and from 1680 to 
1693, when Don Diego de Vargas reconquered the country, 
the Pueblos enjoyed their freedom. There was another 



LAND OF THE DELIGHT MAKERS 75 

uprising in 1696, but soon thereafter the rule of the Span- 
iards became firm and the Indians have never since been 
free. The old palace saw governor after governor of both 
Spanish and IMexican rule, and then became the seat of 
power of the United States. Here it was that General Lew 
Wallace lived for a while, and is said to have written part 
of his great novel, Ben Hur, while his wife wrote interest- 
ingly if not accurately of the Pueblos. Today this historic 
building is appropriately converted into a State Museum, 
and is one of the places that all travelers to the Southwest 
should visit. 



CHAPTER VII 

CANYON DE CHELLY, DEL MUERTO AND MONU- 
MENT CANYONS, AND THEIR RUINS 

FOR years this French-appearing name has been one to 
conjure with throughout the whole Southwest. It has 
evoked as many wonder pictures as have references to the 
Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, and, in the very 
earliest days of the United States' occupancy of New Mex- 
ico (which included what is now Arizona) it thrilled the 
heart of every soldier likely to be called upon for service in 
the region because of its unknown mysteries. We do not 
know when it was first seen by the white man, and we have 
no record that the Spaniards ever visited it, though they 
reached the Hopi villages, comparatively speaking nearby, 
and established churches there. Possibly trappers — those 
brave pioneers of civilization, whose very profession makes 
them keep ahead of all settled populations — were the first 
to bring back stories of Chelly Canyon and its wonders. 
Then, when the gold rush to California attracted men from 
all parts of the world, rumors began to circulate about this 
wonderful place, in which lived the warlike and semi- 
nomadic Navaho Indians, so that it is possible that some of 
the Utah and Arizona Mormons had either seen or heard 
of them, and when they joined the rush to the California 
gold fields told their stories as they sought to while away 
the long evenings around the campfire. Possibly members 

76 



CANYON DE CHELLY 77 

of the Mormon Battalion that formed later a part of 
Kearny's Army of the West, that marched to San Diego in 
1846, had visited the canyon and its ruins, for the Mormons 
early reached out to convert the Hopis and the Navahos, it 
being thought their doctrine of polygamy might appeal to 
them. I do not know exactly when they settled near the 
Hopi farming village of Moenkopi, but it is well known that 
they succeeded in obtaining the land and springs of Tuba, 
the Hopi chief, and there established the town of Tuba 
City, where they were brought in daily contact with Navahos 
from all parts of the country. 

Doniphan, the officer in charge of one branch of this 
army of Kearny's, received the following order Octo- 
ber 2, 1846: 

To march into the Navaho country, cause all the prisoners, 
and all the property they hold which may have been stolen from 
the inhabitants of the territory of New Mexico, to be given 
up ; and he will require of them such security for their future 
good conduct, as he may think ample and sufficient, by taking 
hostages or otherwise* 

Hughes's account of this expedition, and everything con- 
nected with it, is fascinating reading to those who like to 
know the early history of our western wilds. Major Gilpin, 
who, early in September, had been sent ahead to pacify the 
border tribes of Utah, before the Doniphan expedition was 
deemed necessary, was now called upon by Doniphan to 
join him. In so doing he had to pass the mouth of the 
Chelly Canyon. Hughes thus refers to it : 

This day they came to the Challe and passed within a few 
miles of the celebrated stronghold or presidio (fort) of the 
Navahos, called El Challe.f 
* Doniphan's Expedition. t Ibid. 



78 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

From this it is apparent that, already, Canyon de Chelly 
had a widespread reputation as the site of a great fortress 
of the warlike Navahos. It must be remembered in this 
connection that the Americans were now in daily contact 
with the Mexicans, with whom the Navahos had been at 
war since the days of the coming of the Spaniards, three 
hundred years before. To the Mexicans the Navahos were 
sons of evil, children of the devil, bugaboos with which to 
frighten their children, and warriors of whom all save the 
bravest stood in honest dread. 

Gilpin arrived at the place appointed for rendezvous, 
Ojo del Oso — the spring of the bear — where Fort Win- 
gate, New Mexico, now stands, on November 20, bringing 
many professed Navaho chiefs with him. Doniphan ar- 
rived on the 2 1st, and the following day a treaty of peace 
was concluded with them. 

For several reasons, however, this treaty was not kept, 
and the Navahos continued their hostile raids and depreda- 
tions, stealing with equal frequency and indifference alike 
from Indian, Mexican, and American. This led to another 
expedition, in 1849, under Lieutenant-Colonel J. M. Wash- 
ington, of which Lieutenant J. H. Simpson was a member. 
He thus writes of Canyon de Chelly : 

This canyon has been for a long time of distinguished reputa- 
tion among the Mexicans, on account of its great depth and 
impregnability — the latter being not more due to its inaccessi- 
bility than to the fort which it is said to contain. This fort, 
according to Carravahal, our guide, is so high as to require fif- 
teen ladders to scale it, seven of which, as he says, on one 
occasion, he ascended ; but, not being permitted to go higher, 
he did not see the top of it.* 

* Report of Lieut. J. H. Simpson of an Expedition into the Navaho 
Country, Washington, 1850. 




Courtesy of Bureau of American Ethnology 

MUiMMY CAVE, CANYON DE CHELLY 




Cointcsv of Bill can of iiiiciuaii Etiinulogv 

THE WHITE HOUSE 

CLIFF-DWELLINGS, CANYON DE CHELLY 



CANYON DE CHELLY 79 

Simpson and his party went quite a distance up the 
canyon, but, of course, found no fortress. He did find 
something, however, of great interest — several groups of 
cliff-dwellings, which he described, thus giving to the world 
the first knowledge obtained of these human residences, 
which for half a century or more were to be a puzzle and 
marvel to the world. His observations are so important 
that they are worthy a place, entire, in this chapter. 

Agreeably to the orders of the colonel commanding, I left 
camp at 7:30 this morning (September 8, 1849) to make a 
reconnaissance of the renowned Canyon of the Chelly. In 
addition to my two assistants, the two Kerns, and Mr. Champ- 
lin, there were in the company an escort of about sixty men. 

Reaching the mouth of the Canyon de Chelly, we turned to 
the left to go up it. Its escarpment walls at the mouth we 
found low. Its bottom, which in places is as little as one 
hundred and fifty feet wide, though generally as wide as three 
or four hundred feet, is a heavy sand. The escarpment walls, 
which are a red amorphous sandstone, are rather friable, and 
show imperfect seams of stratification ; the dip being slight, 
and towards the west. 

Proceeding up the canyon, the walls gradually attain a 
higher altitude, till, at about three miles from the mouth, they 
begin to assume a stupendous appearance. Almost perfectly 
vertical, they look as if they had been chiseled by the hand of 
art ; and occasionally curious marks, apparently the effect of 
the rotary attrition of contiguous masses, could be seen upon 
their faces. 

At the point mentioned, we followed up a left-hand branch 
of the canyon ; this branch being from one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred yards wide, and the enclosing walls continuing 
stupendous. [Here follows a short description of a side can- 
yon, where nothing of importance is seen.] 

Retracing our steps to the primary branch we had left, we 
followed it up to its head, which we found but two or three 
hundred yards above th*. ork, the side walls still continuing 



80 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

stupendous, and some fine caves being visible here and there 
within them. I also noticed here some small habitations, made 
up of natural overhanging rock, and artificial walls, laid in 
stone and mortar; the latter forming the front portion of the 
dwelling. 

Thus is heralded in American literature for the first time 

the cliff-dwellings. The soldier in Lieutenant Simpson 

was too much occupied with ideas of the great fort of the 

Navahos to realize the vast importance of the discovery he 

was making. He continues : 

Having got as far up the lateral branches as we could go, 
and not yet having seen the famous fort, we began to believe 
that, in all probability, it would turn out to be a fable. But 
still, we did not know what the main canyon might yet unfold, 
and so we returned to explore it above the point or fork at 
which we had left it. Starting from this point, our general 
course lay about southeast by east. Half a mile further, or 
three and a half miles from the mouth of the canyon, on its 
left escarpment, I noticed a shelving place where troops (but 
not pack animals) could ascend and descend. Less than a 
mile further, I observed, upon a shelf in the left-hand wall, 
some fifty feet above the bottom of the canyon — unapproach- 
able except by ladders, the wall below being very nearly vertical 
— a small pueblo ruin, of a style of structure similar, to all 
appearances, to that found in the ruins on the Chaco. I also 
noticed in it a circular wall, which, in all probability, has been 
an estuffa.* The width of the canyon at this point is probably 
from two to three hundred yards, the bottom continuing sandy 
and level. And, what appears to be singular, the sides of the 
lateral walls are not only as vertical as natural walls can well 
be conceived to be, but they are perfectly free from a tallus 
of debris, the usual concomitant of rocks of this description. 
Does not this point to a crack or natural fissure as having given 
origin to the canyon, rather than to aqueous agents, which, at 
least at the present period, show an utter inadequacy as a 
producing cause? 

*Spanish, estufa, a stone, a warm, close room. The Spanish name 
given to the Indian kiva. 



CANYON DE CHELLY 81 

About five miles from the mouth, we passed another col- 
lection of uninhabited houses, perched on a shelf in the left- 
hand wall. Near this place, in the bed of the canyon, I noticed 
the ordinary Navaho hut, and close by it a peach orchard. A 
mile further, observing several Navahos, high above us, on 
the verge of the north wall, shouting and gesticulating as if 
they were very glad to see us, what was our astonishment 
when they commenced tripping down the almost vertical wall 
before them as nimbly and dexterously as minuet dancers? 
Indeed, the force of gravity, and their descent upon a steep 
inclined plane, made such a kind of performance absolutely 
necessary to insure their equilibrium. All seemed to allow 
that this was one of the most wonderful feats they had ever 
witnessed. 

Seven miles from the mouth, we fell in with considerable 
pueblo ruins. These ruins are on the left or north side of 
the canyon, a portion of them being situated at the foot of 
the escarpment wall, and the other portion some fifty feet 
above the bed of the canyon. The wall in front of this latter 
portion being vertical, access to it could only have been ob- 
tained by means of ladders. The front of these ruins measures 
one hundred and forty-five feet, and their depth forty-five. 
The style of structure is similar to that of the pueblos found 
on the Chaco ; the building material being of small, thin sand- 
stones, from two to four inches thick, imbedded in mud mortar, 
and chinked in the facade with small stones. The present 
height of its walls is about eighteen feet. Its rooms are ex- 
ceedingly small, and the windows only a foot square. One 
circular estuffa was all that was visible. 

Half a mile above these ruins, in a reentering angle of the 
canyon, on its left side, are a peach orchard and some Navaho 
lodges. Proceeding still further up the canyon, the walls, 
which yet preserve their red sandstone character, but which 
have increased in the magnificence of their proportions, at in- 
tervals present facades hundreds of feet in length, and three 
or four hundred in height, and which are beautifully smooth 
and vertical. These walls look as if they had been erected by 
the hand of art — the blocks of stone composing them not 
unfrequently discovering a length in the wall of hundreds of 



82 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

feet; and a thickness of as much as ten feet, and laid with as 
much precision, and showing as handsome and well-pointed 
and regular horizontal joints, as can be seen in the custom- 
house of the City of New York. . . . 

Having ascended the canyon nine and a half miles, the 
horses of the Pueblos in company with us not being strong 
enough for a further exploration, there being no prospect of 
our seeing the much-talked-of presidio or fort of the Navahos, 
which had all along been represented to us as being near the 
mouth of the canyon, and the reconnaissance having already 
been conducted further than Colonel Washington had antici- 
pated would be found necessary, the expedition returned to 
camp, highly delighted with what they had seen. We found, 
however, the further we ascended it, the greater became the 
altitude of its enclosing walls ; this altitude, at our point of 
returning, being (as I ascertained by an indirect measurement) 
five hundred and two feet. The length of the canyon is prob- 
ably about twenty-five miles. Its average width, as far as we 
ascended it, may be estimated at two hundred yards. . . . 

Should it ever be necessary to send troops up this canyon, 
no obstruction would be found to prevent the passage of 
artillery along its bottom. And should it at the same time, 
which is not at all unlikely, be necessary that a force should 
skirt the heights above to drive off assailants from that quar- 
ter, the south bank should be preferred, because less inter- 
rupted by lateral branch canyons. 

The mystery of the Canyon of Chelly is now, in all proba- 
bility solved. This canyon is, indeed, a wonderful exhibition 
of nature, and will always command the admiration of its 
votaries, as it will the attention of geologists. But the hitherto 
entertained notion that it contained a high insulated plateau 
fort near its mouth, to which Navahos resorted in times of 
danger, is exploded. That they may have had heights upon 
the side walls of the canyon, to scale which would require a 
series of fourteen ladders, is indeed probable ; for it would 
require more than this number to surmount the height we 
measured.* 

* Simpson's Report. 



CANYON DE CHELLY 83 

Like the treaties that preceded it, this one of Colonel 
Washington's was soon ignored and things went on from 
bad to worse until 1863, when General Carleton was sent 
to grapple with the problem. He called upon Kit Carson 
and the two solved it in stern, military fashion. The Nava- 
hos were rounded up, willy-nilly, and sent to Bosque 
Redondo, in New Mexico, and there kept until their spirit 
and insolence was crushed. In the expedition one of Kit 
Carson's officers made a complete trip through De Chelly, 
and from his report it is evident they were all alike (Carle- 
ton, Carson, and the rest) ignorant of Lieutenant Simpson's 
destruction of the fortress myth. But, although from that 
day nothing further has been heard of the Navahos' fort, 
it was left for the Bureau of American Ethnology to make 
an accurate, complete, and scientific survey of the canyon. 
In 1882-3, Colonel Stevenson and Cosmos Mindeleff studied 
it, and in 1895, in the Sixteenth Annual Report, the latter 
gives a detailed account w^hich is reliable and standard. 

While in the early days Canyon de Chelly was noted for 
its inaccessibility, times have materially changed it in this 
regard. The traveler from the southeast or west may ride 
in comfort in his Pullman on the main line of the Santa Fe 
to Gallup, New Mexico, and from there, in an automobile 
journey with ease, in good w^eather, to the mouth of the 
canyon. Those wdio come from the north merely travel a 
little further around, for the Denver and Rio Grande Rail- 
way connects with the Santa Fe at the old capital city of 
the same name, and thus Gallup is easily reached. On the 
other hand the automobile traveler merely prepares for 
extra sandy and rough roads, and pushes along. 

At Chin Lee, where the United States Indian Department 



84 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

has a school, two or three trading stores and the mission of 
the Franciscan Fathers is located, change should be made 
to wagon or horseback. 

The main canyon is twenty miles long. It is known to 
the Navahos as Tsc-gi. It heads near Washington Pass, 
within a few miles of the crest of the Tunicha Mountains, 
and extends almost due west to the Chin Lee Valley. 

About three miles from its month De Chelly is joined by 
another canyon, almost as long, which, heading also in the 
Tunicha mountains, comes in from the northeast. It is over 
fifteen miles long, and is called on the map Canyon del Muerto ; 
the Navaho know it as En-a-tsc-gi. About thirteen miles 
above the mouth of the main canyon a small branch comes in 
from the southeast. It is about ten miles long, and has been 
called Monument Canyon, on account of the number of up- 
right natural pinnacles of rock in it. In addition to those 
named, there are innumerable small branches, ranging in size 
from deep coves to real canyons a mile or two long. Outside 
of De Chelly, and independent of it, there is a little canyon 
about four miles long, called Tse-on-i-tso-si by the Navaho. 
At one point near its head it approaches so near to De Chelly 
that but a few feet of rock separate them.* 

While perennial springs supply plenty of water to both 
Del Muerto and Chelly Canyons, the sand is so deep that 
only during the time of the autumn and winter rains and in 
the spring wdien the mountain snows are melting is there 
sufficient to enable it to flow to the mouth. The sands 
absorb it. But water can always be found by making a 
shallow hole in the sand. This is the method followed by 
the Navahos, who still reside in fairly large numbers in the 
main canyons and their larger branches. 

At its mouth Chelly is about 500 feet wide, and while 

* Mindeleff in the Sixteenih Annual Refort of the Bureau of Ethnol- 
ogy, p. 85. 



CANYON DE CHELLY 85 

there is considerable variation all the way to the head, it 
preserves a fairly uniform width. In a few places it becomes 
as narrow as 300 feet. The walls are of a brilliant red 
sandstone, weather-streaked black and gray coming from 
above. 

Both it and Del Muerto are winding and tortuous, and 
the latter is much narrower than De Chelly, there being 
places where one can almost throw a stone across it. 

At the mouth the walls are not more than twenty to 
thirty feet high, descending vertically to a bed of loose 
white sand, and absolutely free from talus. This latter is a 
noticeable feature most of the way up the canyon, though 
there are places where masses occur, its absence doubtless 
being accounted for by disintegration and washing away by 
flood waters. 

Del Muerto enters De Chelly through so narrow a pass, 
with walls over 200 feet high, that one might easily overlook 
the mouth and take it for an alcove. The ascent of the walls 
is so gradual that it is no wonder the ordinary observer is 
deceived by them and exaggerates their height. In my own 
case, as I drove along in the wagon generously loaned by 
my friends of the Franciscan Mission, and stretched out to 
sleep on the rocks at night by the side of my Navaho guide, 
I could well understand how J. H. Beadle, whose Western 
Wilds had always given me much pleasure, was led to his 
extravagant statements. He entered it from above, by Bat 
Canyon, and speaks of the first descent as 1,100 feet. Later 
he tells of cliff-dwellings 1.500 feet above the canyon bed, 
and perhaps three hundred feet below the summit. He thus 
describes a wonderful pinnacle or needle that stands out 
from the main cliff at the junction with Monument Canyon. 



86 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

There is another on the other side, and the two have been 
named " The Captains." The height of the taller of the two 
has been variously estimated at from 1,200 to 2,500 feet. 
In reality it is less than 800. Beadle says : 

But the most remarkable and unaccountable feature of the 
locality is where the canyons meet. There stands out one 
hundred feet from the point, entirely isolated, a vast leaning 
rock tower at least 1,200 feet high and not over 200 thick at 
the base, as if it had originally been the sharp termination of 
the cliff and been broken off and shoved farther out. It 
almost seems that one must be mistaken, that it must have 
some connection with the cliff, until one goes around it and 
finds it 100 feet or more from the former. It leans at an angle 
from the perpendicular of at least fifteen degrees ; and lying 
down at the base on the under side, by the best sighting I 
could make, it seemed to me that the opposite upper edge was 
directly over me — that is to say, mechanically speaking, its 
center of gravity barely falls within the base, and a heave 
of only a yard or two more would cause it to topple over.* 

In Canyons de Chelly and Del Muerto a great number of 
cliff-dwellings and ruins of four general types have been 
found, the principal of which are know^n as the Casa Blanca, 
Antelope, and Mummy Cave ruins. They add great interest 
to a trip which is full of scenic and ethnologic wonder, 
though it is impossible here to do more than merely refer 
to their existence. To those who are interested in their 
study reference is made to IMindeleff's comprehensive mono- 
graph, and my own speedily forthcoming work. The Pre- 
historic Clijf-Divcllings of tlic SoufJizvcst. 

* The Undeveloped West, or Five Years in the Territories, by J. H. 
Beadle, p. 552. 




Courtesy of Santa Fe Ry. Co. 



CANYON DE CHELLY MONUMENT 





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CHAPTER VIII 

THE NAVAHOS AND THEIR REMARKABLE FIRE 

DANCE 

THE Navaho and the Apache are one and the same 
people, though so long separated and living apart that 
I suppose we should now call them cousins. They are the 
same fearless, warlike, independent race, proud and haughty, 
considering themselves, as their own name implies (Dene, 
the people), the most important people on the face of the 
earth. Just when they came into Arizona is not known. By 
language and customs they prove themselves to be allied to 
the great Athabascan family of the far-away North, in 
Alaska, and all their traditions attribute a northern origin 
to their ancestors. 

When the Spaniards came, in the middle of the fifteenth 
century, they found the Navahos securely entrenched in 
their present locations. They had no villages, however, like 
the Pueblos, and were semi-nomads, hence they offered no 
strong inducements, as did the former, for active missionary 
work among them. They had no strong central organiza- 
tion, but were composed of bands, each in a measure under 
the control of a chief whose power was somewhat uncertain 
and temporary, for they were too independent to submit to 
a control they did not choose. Once in a while a few of 
these separate bands would unite for some definite object, 
as a great raid upon their enemies or a far-away hunt in a 

87 



88 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

hostile country, but there was no organized coherent federa- 
tion amongst them, as was found among the Iroquois of the 
East when the white man first discovered them. 

Their nomad character did not seem to be provocative of 
good habits, for they occasionally raided their Pueblo neigh- 
bors and stole from them all the corn, squash, melons, buck- 
skin, and other treasures these home-loving people had stored 
away. It was such raids as this, rather than any relentless 
warfare, as we moderns understand the term, that led the 
ancestors of the present Pueblos to build their fortresses on 
the Verde, their cliff-dwellings that were hard to approach, 
and their vast community houses, where a whole people 
could rush for protection on the approach of danger. 

When the Spaniards arrived with their flocks of sheep 
and goats, their horses and cows, their seeds of wheat, of 
peaches, etc., the Navahos were not long in learning the 
advantages of these new introductions. The newcomers 
were not many, and the Navahos could not understand how 
the Pueblos could so easily bow their necks to the yoke of 
the foreigner. They were patient enough until they learned 
the flavor of roast mutton, the value of a horse, mule, and 
burro as beasts of transportation and carriers of burdens, 
the wonderful addition to their weaving material for blan- 
kets the wool of the sheep afforded, and other things the 
Spaniards were glad to teach, and then their normal habits 
broke forth. 

The Spaniard became the object of their raids, as well as 
Hopi, Zuni, and Acoma, and when the Spanish and Mexican 
colonists settled on lands they had for centuries regarded as 
their own, bitter hatred was added which gave an additional 
intensity and even ferocity to their attacks. The result was 



THE NAVAHOS 89 

that for over two hundred years, prior to the seizure of 
Arizona and New Mexico by the United States, the Navaho 
had been regarded as the scourge of the plains. He was the 
Ishmael of the desert; every man's hand was against him, 
and his against them. There is not a Mexican family in 
New Mexico or Arizona which dates back to " the days 
before the Gringo came," that had not lost one or several of 
its members in some conflict with these ever-ready foes. I 
could point out a score or more of Arizona landmarks which 
are reminders of bloody struggles between the advance 
guards of civilization and these aboriginal savages. Yet, 
according to their own standards, and even from ours, in 
many respects, they were a fine race. They were honest 
among themselves, chaste to a rare degree, though polyga- 
mous, industrious as far as they knew, fairly truthful, fond 
of their children, the most hospitable people in the world, 
and religious beyond the white man's conception. 

It is very amusing to read, even in such learned publica- 
tions as the reports of the Smithsonian Institution, some of 
the first estimates United States officers and others made of 
the Navaho. I could easily fill up this chapter with untruth- 
ful and foolish characterizations and silly guesswork that 
led to the loss of many a life, and cost hundreds of thou- 
sands of dollars to the United States government before we 
learned wisdom. The subject, however, is too large for 
more than a hint here. Suffice it to say that when General 
Kearny took possession of the land, in 1846, when war was 
declared against Mexico, we naturally inherited with the 
Mexicans and the Navahos the feuds that had existed for 
so many generations between them. Not understanding the 
situation, our government ordered its officers to make trea- 



90 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

ties with the various Indian tribes, the Navahos among the 
number. 

There can be no question but that the Navahos regarded 
this treaty-making as a weakness. Nor could they under- 
stand why the Americans should come and make war upon 
the Mexicans of New Mexico and yet refuse to allow them 
to continue their own warfare with them until they had 
evened up all scores. One of their chiefs thus addressed 
Colonel Doniphan, when, in November, 1846, he was con- 
cluding a treaty with them : 

Americans ! You have a strange cause of war against the 
Navahos. We have waged war against the New Mexicans 
for several years. We have plundered their villages and 
killed many of their people, and made many prisoners. We 
had just cause for all this. You have lately commenced a 
war against the same people. You are powerful. You have 
great guns and many brave soldiers. You have therefore con- 
quered them, the very thing we have been attempting to do 
for so many years. You now turn upon us for attempting to 
do what you have done yourselves. We cannot see why you 
have cause of quarrel with us for fighting the New Mexicans 
on the west, while you do the same thing on the east. Look 
how matters stand. This is our -war. We have more right 
to complain of you for interfering in our war, than you have 
to quarrel with us for continuing a war we had begun long 
before you got here. If you will act justly, you will allow 
us to settle our own differences. 

This, of course, our government could not do, so we 
became the object of the Navahos' vengeance as well as the 
Mexicans'. Yet the authorities demanded treaties rather 
than arrest and condign punishment of the offenders. 

The Navahos had no objection. They knew nothing of 
the United States. They knew and cared less about treaties. 



THE NAVAHOS 91 

They merely saw another chance for more effective raids, 
and would leave the treaty tent to go and steal the very 
mules from under the noses of the soldiers who had stood 
by and heard their professions of friendship for the United 
States. 

This aroused the ire of Uncle Sam, but he still coun- 
seled "treaty." It was about this time that rumors reached 
the ears of the Americans of the Canyon de Chelly, a won- 
derful, natural fortress of the Navahos, in the heart of their 
wild, barren, and inaccessible country ; where they had con- 
structed an absolutely impregnable fortress scores, hundreds 
of feet high. This canyon, with its companion gorges, forms 
the subject of the preceding chapter. 

The United States soldiers soon exploded the idea of the 
"impregnable fortress," by marching through Canyon de 
Chelly, But, somehow, it persisted in the minds of the 
people of New Mexico, so long as the Navahos held their 
power and persisted in their noxious raids and secret mur- 
ders. At last a genuine Indian fighter was put after them. 
This was in 1863. General Carleton had a different method 
of handling the Indians from that followed by his prede- 
cessors. He placed the redoubtable Kit Carson in charge 
of operations and bade him " round up " all the Navahos 
who did not come in and surrender. Kit did the work with 
frontiersman-like completeness. He wasted few words. 
Those Navahos who professed friendliness were required to 
come in within a certain length of time (a very short time) 
or they were treated as enemies. In a few months the 
arrogant, impudent, and overbearing attitude of the Nava- 
hos was completely crushed, their marauding ceased, and 
their raids a thing of the past. They had learned the power 



92 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

of the United States and the severity of its punishment when 
it really meant business. 

Since then the Navahos have been fairly well behaved, 
have prospered wonderfully in material things, and have 
increased and multiplied both in their flocks and herds as 
well as in their own population. They make annually from 
three-quarters of a million to a million dollars' worth of 
blankets; they ship hundreds of thousands of pounds of 
wool, pelts, and hides; their pinion nut crops are also val- 
uable, and they trade with other tribes their sturdy little 
ponies for food, baskets, pottery, buckskin, and other abo- 
riginal articles of commerce. 

Yet in spite of their constant association with the white 
man they retain most (if not all) of their ancient rites and 
ceremonies — many, varied, complex, and wonderful. 

For years it was thought that the Navahos had no 
religious ceremonies to amount to anything, for they were 
more shy, reserved, and self-contained than any others of 
the North American aborigines. Then it was found they 
had many ceremonies, the most marvelous of which is called 
the Mountain Chant. In this chant, which is a ceremony of 
many days' and nights' duration, the last night is devoted 
to a public performance of a variety of "acts." Early in 
the evening the first fire dance occurs, called the Nahikai- 
alil, which signifies "it becomes white again." Imagine a 
corral or enclosure, about 120 feet in diameter. In the 
center a great bonfire blazing and sparkling. Suddenly a 
dozen naked Navahos, their bodies painted white, so that 
they appear like living statues, march into the enclosure. 
Each carries in his hand a wand tipped with eagle down. 
After twice circling around the fire they begin to thrust 




Courtesy of Bureau of American Ethnology 

NAVAHO FIRE DANCE 




Courtesy of Bureau of American Ethnology 

CORRAL IN WHICH FIRE DANCE IS HELD 



THE NAVAHOS 93 

their wands towards it with the clearly shown object of 
burning off the eagle down. Then, for half an hour or so, 
this object is pursued, the intense heat of the fire rendering 
it impossible to get near enough. But gradually working 
each other to a frenzy, the dancers get nearer and nearer 
until, at last, one, making a wild plunge and gliding for- 
ward on his body, succeeds in setting his plume on fire. 
Frantically the others plunge nearer and one after the other 
accomplishes the same result. 

Now, with yells and cries, each seeks to attract the atten- 
tion of the onlookers, and by pretended occult or mysterious 
powers brings back the burned off plume, making it " become 
white again" — hence the name of the dance. 

Following this, exhibitions of arrow-swallowing, Katchina 
dancing, feather conjuring, and the making of a yucca grow 
fill up the night until as dawn approaches there comes the 
great Fire Dance. The naked dancers, whitewashed, appear 
again, each man carrying in his hands a bunch of shredded 
cedar bark. After four times dancing around the fire, wav- 
ing their bark towards it, the leader sets his bunch on fire 
and all his followers do the same. Now follows a scene 
that beggars description. Rushing wildly after each other 
around the fire, the rapid racing causes the brands to throw 
out long brilliant streamers or banners of flame over the 
arms and bodies of the participants, and reaching to the one 
next behind. Then, with wild, piercing yells, each one seeks 
to catch the man ahead of him and sponge him down with 
the flaming brands. No man ever turns around to see what 
is being done to him, but vigorously rubs the flame onto the 
man ahead, occasionally giving him vigorous blows with the 
flaming bark. If a dancer stands alone he sponges himself 



94 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

up and down until he is able to catch up with the man ahead. 
When the bark is so far consumed that it can be no longer 
held the dancer drops it and retires from the corral. Thus, 
one by one, they all depart, when the Navaho spectators step 
up, pick up the still smouldering fragments, and rub their 
hands with them. This is supposed to be a great charm, 
especially against the evil effects of fire. 

While the description above given is brief, it must not be 
supposed the ceremony is over speedily. It takes a long 
time. It is fully described in the Fiftli Report of the Bureau 
of American Ethnology, and ranks with the Hopi Snake 
Dance as one of the most thrilling aboriginal ceremonies 
knt)wn to the white race. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE TERRACED HOUSES OF THE RIO GRANDE 

THESE have been somewhat referred to in the chap- 
ters on Taos, Zuni, Acoma, and Hopi, but this book 
would be incomplete did it not suggest the great pleasure 
that may be derived from a visit to all the pueblos of the Rio 
Grande and its tributaries. One can get good tastes of these 
without leaving the main line of the Santa Fe, as, for 
instance, at Santo Domingo, a few miles east of Albuquer- 
que; Isleta, twelve and one-half miles to the west, and at 
Laguna. 

At the first named, however, the casual traveler will not 
be welcomed. All the shy, haughty, and determined reserve 
of the centuries seems to be enshrined in these people, and 
they plainly show they not only do not want visitors, but 
will do all they can to discourage them. 

But at Isleta it is quite different; there as a rule one is 
welcomed. 

No person merely passing by, or through, this Indian 
pueblo could conceive the many wonderful things that exist 
within those rude adobe Avails. Here is a republic as per- 
fect in constitution and government as our own boasted 
national political establishment. A governor, lieutenant- 
governor, sheriff, assistant sheriff, secretary of war, and a 
board of principales control the destinies of the little town, 
where 1,200 human beings dwell in peace, industry, and 

95 



96 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

domestic happiness. They are citizens of the United States, 
according to the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, made between 
our government and Mexico, but they have never exercised 
their privileges, and possibly would not be allowed to if 
they were to try, yet they understand popular government, 
and were old in its usages before our government was 
dreamed of; aye, before the ship of Leif Ericsson w^as 
landed on the shores of this continent, or Columbus was 
born. And they have never heard of, nor in their simple 
honesty, conceived of, Tammany Halls, convention bosses, 
wire-pullings, fixing of voters, malfeasance in office, polit- 
ical bribery and corruption; or such principles as "to the 
victors belong the spoils." 

Isleta is a picturesque little towm, but it is only after a 
study of its people that the full charm of the place is re- 
vealed. The customs of the Indians are so simple and 
quaint, and yet so full of meaning, that one is fascinated 
more and more as he becomes acquainted with them. I was 
present at the funeral of an old Indian woman who had 
died quite suddenly on one of the fiesta days. The bell 
tolled. Then the old sacristan left the church, and, carrying 
a large gilded cross, followed the priest in his sacred robes, 
with candle-bearer, and others W'ho carried a canvas-cot bier 
to the house of the dead. 

The secret ceremonies of the tribe, to which no white 
stranger is admitted, had already taken place within. 

Soon loud wailing was heard, and the procession, consid- 
erably augmented, left the house and crossed the plaza on 
its way to the churchyard. On the bier was the body of the 
dead woman, robed in her ordinary dress, with face exposed. 
Her family and friends followed, w^eeping and crying pit- 



TERRACED HOUSES 97 

eously. After a brief ceremony in the church and at the 
graveside, the body was lowered into the earth, and the 
mourners, seizing the shovels, began to throw the loose dirt 
upon the body and uncovered face. In her fingers was 
placed a prayer-stick to keep away the evil spirits. 

And there she must remain, not to be visited again until 
La Fiesta de los Mucrtos — the day of the feast of the dead. 
This occurs but once a year, and is a sight to be witnessed. 
After the ringing of the bell, the women march into the 
churchyard, bearing upon their heads baskets filled with 
such food as the deceased loved. Placing the baskets upon 
the graves, they light candles and stand them around the 
baskets, kneeling reverently and patiently at prayer, while 
the dead one is supposed to feast upon the provisions. Tears 
furtively stream down the cheeks of each mourner as she 
recalls the virtues and affection of the deceased, for one of 
the marked traits of the Indian character is their intense 
devotion to each other. 

In the church the same proceedings are transpiring, for 
many have been buried in those time-honored walls. Now 
the priest enters, and in an impressive manner recites the 
office of the mass for the dead, then the sacristan, carry- 
ing the bowl of holy water, the blessing of the graves 
is given, and the needed sprinkling with the agua bendita. 
As each grave is blessed and duly sprinkled the patient 
kneeler arises and carries her basket away. The dead have 
had their feast, and now it is the padre's turn, for, all that 
is left is taken to his storeroom as his perquisite. And 
none but these simple-minded Indians can see that there is 
not a particle of food the less in the basket, after the dead 
have taken their fill. But they are satisfied, and returning 



98 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

to their homes they leave the dead in peace and fasting for 
another year. 

The Isletans own patented lands to the extent of over 
a hundred and fifteen thousand acres, and their gardens, 
vineyards, orchards, alfalfa fields, and pastures, all well- 
irrigated and thoroughly cultivated, demonstrate agricul- 
tural and horticultural ability equal to, and often surpassing, 
that of more pretentious, because "civilized," farmers and 
gardeners. They now ship fruit — peaches, apricots, melons, 
and grapes — to points as far west as the Needles, and to Las 
Vegas and beyond, in the East. Nor did they learn these 
things from us. We cannot lay that flattering unction to 
our souls. They tilled the soil, irrigated their farms, built 
their three, four, and six-storied houses, governed them- 
selves truly as republics, made their own clothes — modest, 
neat, and picturesque — made glazed pottery and con- 
structed their own implements and furniture, before ever 
our ancestors had dreamed of their existence. 

Laguna is the second pueblo of importance west of Albu- 
querque, reached by the Santa Fe. It is perched on a slight 
sandstone eminence overlooking the San Jose River, and 
between this knoll and the stream curves the railway track, 
directly under the shadow of some of the houses. These 
are generally of one story, though there are some of two 
or three stories. A striking house, seen from the station, 
is that of Paisano, the Governor. It is a large building 
of stone and adobe, whitewashed, and fronted with a 
"portico," the columns being of barked juniper trunks. 
Being somewhat progressive, Paisano has added doors to 
his house, windows of glass, and a modern cookstove. The 
governor stands midway between those who might be 




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PUEBLO FUNERAL PROCESSION 



TERRACED HOUSES 99 

termed the conservatives — those who do not wish to for- 
sake the ancient customs — and the radicals, those who are 
desirous of emulating all that is good in the white man. 
For these two classes are far more distinctly marked than 
one would conceive, and there is much enmity manifested 
toward those who are too progressive in spirit. Still, 
Laguna, being on the line of the railway, and its citizens 
having for many years been in contact with three cultured 
and educated Americans who have lived and intermarried 
with them, and many of the children having attended school 
at Albuquerque and Carlisle, as well as the Government 
School in their own pueblo, it is a much more modernized 
town than any other that is found anywhere near the line 
of the railroad. 

If one is fortunate enough to be present at the Pahs-cot s-e 
or Corn Dance of the tribe, which occurs in September, he 
will see a sight he never dreamed of. The housetops, over- 
looking the dance-plaza, are crowded with spectators decked 
out in all their most gorgeous and brilliant finery. Beneath, 
are thirty or forty men, besmeared with red and other 
pigments, half-naked and crowned with a plume of eagle 
feathers. Up and down, to and fro, they hop, wheeling 
and marching to the music of a vocal chorus aided by 
several tombes, or drums, whose monotonous tom, tom, 
strikes the ear in strange contrast to the ever-changing 
sight that meets the eye. 

Laguna was founded by refugees from Acoma and three 
other pueblos in 1699, and is therefore over 200 years old. 
It was the latest of the pueblos to be founded. 

On the Rio Grande there are several pueblos, including 
Tesuque, nine miles from the city of Santa Fe; Santa Ana, 



100 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Sia, and Jemez, reached from Bernalillo, on the Santa Fe 
line; Nambe, nineteen miles; Pojuaque, five miles beyond 
Nambe, and now abandoned; San Ildefonso; San Juan; 
Santa Clara, and Picuris. Several of these have been 
described and their environment vividly pictured in Marah 
Ellis Ryan's novel, The Flute of the Gods. By reading this 
fascinating story one can learn much of the inwardness of 
Indian thought and religion, and also of their history since 
the coming of the Spaniards. Other interesting books are 
Lummis's The Land of Poco Tiempo, and Charles Francis 
Saunders's Indians of the Terraced Houses; while in Mrs. 
Matilda Coxe Stevenson's masterly and scientific story, The 
Sia, to be found in the TwclftJi Annual Report of the 
Bureau of American Ethnology, one sees their daily life 
as vividly as though one were actually living next door 
neighbor to them. 



CHAPTER X 

BY THE ENCHANTED MESA TO THE CITY OF 
THE SKY 

A FEW hours' ride past Albuquerque, New Mexico, 
on the main line of the Santa Fe Railway, one reaches 
Laguna Indian pueblo. Making this his point of departure, 
one may travel south into a land of enchantment, a veritable 
land of wizardry and necromancy; a land where rocks and 
sand and trees and sky play such tricks upon the mind as 
imagination has never before conjured up; and, also, a 
land where the inhabitants believe as thoroughly in witches 
and charms, and are as afraid and terrified by them as 
children who see " bogies " in the dark. 

Crossing the little creek of San Jose, passing over, by, 
and around sandhills, a splendid valley is soon reached 
which is a revelation of glory and splendor seldom seen. 
Vast tablelands of solid rock, with precipitous walls of 
creamy, pink, and brick-red sandstone, rise on either hand, 
crowned with dark-green forests of pine, pinion, and juni- 
per . Directly ahead, almost sheer in one's path, is a sublime 
mass of rock, a perfect island, rudely triangular, the base 
of the triangle facing the visitor, rising over 400 feet in 
sheer, precipitous height. There are towers, peaks, minarets, 
castles, and other bizarre forms, some of gigantic size, on 
the walls all around, due to the differential erosion of the 
varying densities of sandstone. 

101 



102 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Three miles further on is the present-day site of Acoma, 
the City of the Sky, where these aboriginal people have 
lived in historic times, ever since the conquistadores found 
them there nearly 400 years ago. But, according to their 
traditions, handed down from father to son, mother to 
daughter, through the ages, time was when their ancestors 
lived upon this other mass of rock, which they called 
Katciiiw, the accursed; or, as the American recorder of 
the tradition, Charles F. Lummis, termed it, The EncJianted 
Mesa. According to the story, the heights were reached 
from below by an immense shaft or sliver of rock that, 
during some convulsion, or through other natural causes, 
had become detached from the face of the cliff, its base 
resting in the sandy bed which surrounded the mesa, and 
its pinnacle at the foot of a rude " chute " or narrow groove 
of erosion which sloped up to the mesa top. In this groove 
the Indians had cut foot and hand holes leading to the rock 
shaft, upon which they had continued their rude and primi- 
tive ladder down to the valley. The agricultural fields of 
the Acomese were at Acomita, a few miles away, where 
water from San Jose Creek was available for irrigation pur- 
poses, and they were wont to go down en masse at the 
bidding of their Governor to do the necessary field work. 
On one occasion the herald called them to this service and 
all went, save two sick women and two lads who were left 
to care for them. In their absence a torrential storm arose 
which so flooded the valley that the sand was washed away 
from the base of the rock and it fell with a terrific crash, 
thus severing all connection between the people below and 
their homes above. The ascent was made impossible, and 
alas, also, the descent of the helpless ones above was forbid- 



THE CITY OF THE SKY 103 

den, and in the agony of the few ensuing days those below 
suffered the torture of knowing that their loved and helpless 
ones above were slowly but surely starving to death. 

Sadly and reluctantly they left the accursed place, and 
ever after referred to their former home as Katzimo, in due 
time establishing their pueblo upon the present site. 

While somewhat out of the course of my purpose, it will 
throw added interest around Katzimo here to relate in brief 
a great discussion that arose about it some twenty years 
or so ago. In relating the tradition, Mr. Lummis guessed 
the height of the mesa at i,ooo feet* and stated that it was 
proven to be practically inaccessible save by the flying bird. 
Taking this statement at its face value. Professor William 
Libbey, holding the chair of geography at Princeton Uni- 
versity, decided to make the attempt to scale it with a life- 
saving apparatus and a boatswain's chair. Securing the 
loan of these appliances from officials of the Federal Gov- 
ernment, he shipped them out to Laguna, secured assistance, 
and hied himself to Katzimo. Unfortunately for him, a 
newspaper man of the "yellow journal" type attached 
himself to the party. Arrived at the foot of the mesa, a 
rope was shot over it by means of cannon. By this rope 
stronger tackle was hoisted to which was attached a life- 
saving chair used to convey passengers on a wrecked vessel 
to the coast. A cursory survey of the summit revealed 
no ruins of houses, no remnants of mortars or appliances 
of any kind — though Professor Libbey did state, after- 
wards, that he found, or saw, a few small potsherds and 
other evidences of human presence. These, however, were 

* Major Pradt, the engineer, who later made the ascent with Pro- 
fessor Hodges, found it to be 431 feet. 



104 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

not deemed by him of sufficient importance to signify, hence 
he expressed his doubt as to the authenticity of the tradi- 
tion. This doubt was put into a most positive avowal of 
disbeHef in the press dispatch that the newspaper man 
hastened to send all over the country. 

Mr. Lummis is essentially a fighter, and this dispatch- 
aroused his keenest ire. A controversy was started which 
raged with angry fierceness and into which Professor F. 
W. Hodge, the accomplished ethnologist, and now head of 
the Federal Bureau of American Ethnology, and myself 
were both drawn, he siding with Mr. Lummis, and I with 
Professor Libbey. Of course, with Hodge's authoritative 
backing, the other side doubtless regarded itself as unques- 
tioned victor, but we are still unconvinced. 

So the visitor may gaze longingly upon the mesa cliff 
and summit above and take sides as his inclination dictates. 

The present-day site of Acoma certainly is one of the 
most picturesque of any city in the world. At first sight 
the cliff walls seem as inaccessible and inhospitable as those 
of Katzimo. One might circle the mesa in the dusk of 
evening and never see the two generally used trails — one 
for horses, the other cut into the face of the cliff, where 
a convenient rift or crack offers friendly assistance for the 
laying of tree trunks and rocks as steps. There are two 
other trails, however, one on the opposite side, caused by 
drifted sand piled up almost to the very top, and the other 
a trail cut in a cleft, which few white men have ever seen. 

It was in 1540 that Coronado and his conquistadores first 
visited Acoma. Fifty years later these simple and free sons 
of the City of the Sky swore themselves actual vassals to 
the Crown of Spain, under Juan de Oiiate. But this aroused 




INDIAN PUEBLO OF LAGUNA. NEW ^lEXTCO 





STREET IX THE PUEBLO OF ACOMA, NEW MEXICO 




THE KNClTANTF.n ^FKSA 

FKOM TIIK Till' (IF Till': TKAII. AT ACOMA, NKW MEXICO 



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DRIFTED SAND, ACOMA, NEW MEXICO 



THE CITY OF THE SKY 105 

the fierce enmity and patriotism of one of the Acomese, and 
he tried to prevail upon the warriors to open resistance. 
Cahner and c{uieter counsels prevailed, and the oaths of 
fealty were taken. 

This leader, Zutucapan, however, was not to be denied, 
and he persuaded twelve warriors to unite with him in a 
secret plot to kill the hated Castillo. These twelve were to 
hide in a kiva, and Zutucapan was to so ingratiate himself 
with Ofiate that when he asked him to descend the kiva the 
latter would do so without thought of fear or suspicion. 
Then he was to be slain, and, naturally, the whole of the 
people would be embroiled in war and compelled to defend 
themselves against an exasperated and infuriated foe. 

But Zutucapan failed. Some intuitive sense seems to 
have warned Oiiate. Without any conscious recognition of 
danger he refused to accept the wily chief's invitation, and 
thus his life was saved. 

On November i8, however, the ever-alert patriots suc- 
ceeded, though not with Onate. The latter's chief officer, 
Don Juan Zaldivar, was passing by Acoma on his way to 
vmite with his general for a march to the South Sea [the 
Pacific]. The people came out with presents and profuse 
professions of loyalty and friendship. On being asked for 
supplies they offered to give all that were needed, and totally 
unsuspicious that any treachery was intended, Don Juan 
sent his soldiers to different parts of the pueblo to gather 
the provisions. While the force was thus scattered the 
order to attack was given, and the Indians fell to, with 
hardy lustiness, upon their hated foes. For three hours the 
fight raged, thirty Spaniards or less against the whole of 
the inhabitants of Acoma, for even the women joined in 



106 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the fight, or at least beat the tonibcs, and urged on their 
spouses and sons to greater deeds of valor. 

Though armed with the best of Spanish weapons, fight- 
ing against a savage foe the odds were too great and one 
by one the devoted band fell. At length Zaldivar him- 
self was slain by the heavy war club of the fierce Zutucapan, 
and seeing the officer killed the Acomese shrieked their cry 
of victory. Disheartened and realizing the futility of further 
fight, the five remaining warriors sprang over the fearful 
precipice to the plain below, and providentially four of them 
escaped with their lives, reached the horses, and dashed off 
to give warning to the missionaries at other pueblos of the 
uprising. One man rode in desperate haste after Onate, 
and the heart-broken remainder returned to tell the sad 
tidings of their defeat to the wives, children, and friends of 
the slaughtered men. 

After due consideration it was resolved forthwith to visit 
condign punishment upon the rebels — as they were termed. 
The murdered captain's brother, Vicente, was put in com- 
mand of seventy men and sent forth to subjugate the 
Acomese and bring them to their senses. The peaceably 
inclined chiefs had counseled the removal of the women and 
children from Acoma, but the party of Zutucapan was in the 
ascendancy, and when the devoted seventy arrived on their 
mission of vengeance they were greeted with fierce yells, 
taunts, and insults. 

After a night spent in wild and frenzied dancing by the 
Indians above, and by the Spaniards in preparation and rest 
below, the morning dawned ready for the attack. Don 
Vicente knew there were two trails up which he could 
ascend. Under cover of night he had accompanied twelve 



THE CITY OF THE SKY 107 

of his men to the more hidden trail, while the main body — 
apparently the whole force — marched at dawn to the other. 
The ruse worked perfectly. Every savage warrior on the 
penyol height rushed to the defense of the main trail. 
Vicente and his gallant twelve ascended in safety and, 
forcing their way in, divided the fight. All day the battle 
raged, and when night-time came neither Spaniards nor 
Acomese would allow themselves to rest. Another day and 
part of a third were spent in the most desperate struggle. 
The Spaniards knew they were not only fighting for their 
own lives but for the success of the whole enterprise. Fail- 
ure to them meant the abandonment of the conquest, at 
least under Onate's auspices. They were inured to fiercest 
hardships, and prepared as only such men could be for the 
terrible strain of continuous fighting. Nerves tenser than 
finest steel, muscles more elastic than a rubber ball — the 
whole physical frame hardened to endure the severest 
strains, and knowing it would mean death in its worst forms, 
followed by mutilations too horrible to contemplate, unless 
they were successful, this brave band of seventy was there 
to conquer. Back and forth the forces swayed, now one, 
now the other, gaining a little, only to lose it by a fierce 
and more vigorous onslaught. Imagine the scene. Dusky 
warriors, nearly naked, but painted red and yellow and 
made generally hideous with feathers and other savage 
accouterments, shouting, yelling, screaming, and raging, 
while attacking with heavy stone axes, hammers and flint 
knives, spears and arrows. Urging them on, aiding them, 
carrying weapons and occasionally using them, naked 
women, fiercer and wilder than the men, more vociferous 
in their yells and screams, more terrible in their savage 



108 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

denunciations and imprecations upon the hated white intru- 
ders than were the men, made the conflict even more 
terrible. 

At last discipline, training and the weapons of civiliza- 
tion triumphed, and the bloody conflict was at an end. How 
many Indians were slain is not definitely known. Authori- 
ties differ, some saying there were 3,000, some 6,000, 
Acomese, when the battle began, but all agree that there 
were only 600 left at the close of this desperate three days' 
fighting. 

Rather than be captured by the Spaniards hundreds 
hurled themselves headlong to the rocks beneath, scores 
deliberately perished in the flames of the burning houses, 
and many besought their friends to slay them, which they 
did. 

History like this makes any place interesting, but espe- 
cially one so picturesque and attractively located as Acoma. 
The desperate bravery of its people and their genuine 
patriotism and determination to expel the invader were 
worthy a better fate. 

But Acoma is not all history by any means. Here is 
scenery, grand, glorious, inspirational. It is a place of won- 
ders, where Nature has craftily and cunningly worked to 
produce surprises. Great detached pillars of rock, a hun- 
dred, two, three hundred feet high; a marvelous natural 
bridge, where the arch of the curve is as perfect as if done 
by a mechanical contrivance; grotesque and startling fig- 
ures that might be gargoyles on a Gargantuan temple ; but- 
tresses immeasurably more grand, colossal, and majestic 
than those of the rock-hewn temples of far-away Abyssinia 
— all are here, carved by wind and storm, sand and rain. 



THE CITY OF THE SKY 109 

The horse trail leading up to the mesa top is a wonder in 
itself. Built up many feet in two or three places, the steps 
cut out of the solid rock in others, it is overtopped with two 
stupendously massive monuments that the Indians believe 
were created by the gods. They have many legends about 
these and other natural objects around the mesa, and happy 
is that visitor who can succeed in obtaining an old Indian 
willing to recite these " stories of the old," with a younger 
Indian intelligent and honest enough properly to interpret 
them. 

Then, too, the Acomese preserve many of their ancient 
dances and other ceremonies, which they give in accordance 
with their ancient calendar, though since the advent of 
the Franciscan friars these are all more or less tinged with 
the outer ritualism of Catholicism. 

Their patron saint is San Esteban (St. Stephen) ; so on 
his day, September 3, a series of ceremonials, the like of 
which it would be hard to find elsewhere, are seriously and 
earnestly performed. They are a strange mixture of Chris- 
tian ritual and pagan dance. Worship of the sun, recital 
of the prayers of the Catholic church, and invocations, 
singing to and propitiation of "Those Above," are singu- 
larly commingled. The priest celebrates mass, in which 
caciques, pueblo governor, council, and people all partake. 
To me a most affecting part of the ceremonials is the sing- 
ing in the ancient church by the oldest men of the pueblo, of 
hymns undoubtedly taught to them when children by the 
Spanish priests, or by their parents, who had learned them 
from these devoted missionaries. 

Now and again one may see a dramatic representation 
of the coming of Saint James to Spain, a method of teach- 



110 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

ing history the priests found well adapted to the mentality 
of the Indians. 

When this historic representation is given, the Acomas 
assemble on horseback at the foot of the mesa and look 
earnestly and intently along the dim road, as if in eager 
expectancy of soon seeing some one appear. After a long 
delay a man is seen apparently riding a diminutive horse, 
and accompanied by two men on foot. At his approach 
the excitement is intense. Songs are vociferously sung, the 
tomhe is loudly beaten, the church bells ring, and every 
man, woman, and child in the village assembles at the head 
of the trail to witness the triumphant incoming of the 
stranger. We join the throng, and as the horseman slowly 
ascends the trail the queer pranks and capers of the horse 
are most astonishing, and we cannot understand them till, 
on closer proximity, we discover that what we took for a 
horse is a clever dummy fastened to the body of the man 
who represents St. James, and that the peculiar movements 
are made by the man himself. 

The following day high mass is celebrated in the church, 
St. James on his horse and all the village being present. 

Then follows the procession. It is similar to processions 
everywhere, except that here the priest, Mexicans, and 
Indians, all take part, and each does his own work in 
his own way, and thus adds considerably to the general 
interest. 

A large cross, carried by one of the leading functionaries 
of the village, went ahead, followed by the governor, the 
caciques, the principales, and the "city council." Then, 
under a small canopy carried by four swart Indians, was 
borne the wooden statue of St. Stephen, followed by the 



THE CITY OF THE SKY 111 

padre, in full canonicals, and devoutly reading his ritual. 
Close at his heels came a chorus of forty or fifty men, the 
" drum corps," and then the men, women, and children. 
They paraded the whole town and, as the Mexican contin- 
gent joined them, one of their number bearing an accordion 
took his position by the side of the governor and began to 
play. Imagine my surprise to hear the strains of March- 
ing Through Georgia, and finally, when a most solemn 
dirge was being rendered by the chorus, to hear it relieved 
by the touching ballad, played in most pathetic strains on 
the accordion. After the Ball Is Over. The parade com- 
pleted, the wooden image of St. Stephen was deposited in 
the kisi, a small booth of cotton wood boughs, in which 
was a kind of rude altar and a bench on each side. Two 
guards, armed with Winchester rifles, stood one on each 
side of the entrance to the kisi, and the governor and 
principales took seats on the benches. Then, during the 
day, the devout Indians brought their thank offerings of 
melons, meal, corn, etc., and paid their devotions, kneeling 
before the image. 

Then the dances began. Two of the secret societies of 
the village took part in these ceremonies, and as soon as 
one society tired, or had completed its portion of the dance, 
the other advanced. The dances took place in the main 
street in front of the kisi, the chorus standing opposite, 
so that the dancers paraded up and down between the 
singers and the sacred bower. And who can adequately 
describe an Indian dance? The men wore a kilt, or apron, 
reaching from loin to knees, embroidered and fringed gar- 
ters, and moccasins. Dependent from the loins at the back 
was the skin of the silver-gray fox, and around both arms 



112 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

above the elbow were tied twigs of juniper or pine. In 
the left hand more twigs were held, while in the right 
hand was the. whitewashed gourd rattle used in all cere- 
monial dances. Around each forehead was the inevitable 
handkerchief, and nearly all wore a shell and turquoise 
necklace. Their bodies and legs were perfectly nude, 
painted as usual with an oxide of iron. The women, on 
the other hand, were bedecked with all the gorgeous finery 
which they could muster. Jotsitz (robe), girdle, moccasins, 
leggings, necklaces, etc., that were too good for common 
use, or were especially made for this great occasion, were 
donned, and in addition, a peculiar symbolic headdress 
made of board or rawhide, upon which figures representing 
the katchinas, or lesser divinities, were painted. To and 
fro they danced, the men two together, giving the singular 
hippety-hop movement peculiar to Indian dances, and shak- 
ing their rattles, the women, likewise in twos, following in 
alternate order, gently waving the bunches of wild flowers 
they held in their hands, and shuffling forward with their 
feet as the men hopped. 

On the other side of the street stood the drums and the 
chorus, the leader occasionally making gestures, all of 
which were imitated by the singers — expressive of their 
thankfulness and invocation to " Those Above." 

No one will visit Acoma without seeing the old church. 
It was built twenty years after the destruction of its prede- 
cessor in the Great Rebellion, and though now in a ruined 
condition, is a most remarkable edifice. It covers more 
ground with its accompanying buildings than any modern 
cathedral in the United States, and its graveyard is built 
up at one end by a wall over forty feet high, and the whole 




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THE CITY OF THE SKY 113 

area filled in with earth carried up in blankets by the women 
from the valley beneath. 

The Indians have dug a channel down the center of the 
church. It is to let the rain flow out after a storm, for 
the roof leaks sadly. " You see, it is so much easier to do 
this than to put on a new roof," explained the governor, 
when I asked him what the channel was for. Four adobe 
steps which reach across the whole width of the church 
lead up to the altar, which is also of adobe. The adorn- 
ments behind the altar are a fearful and wonderful combi- 
nation of carving and coloring. In the place of honor is a 
quaint and peculiar little wooden figure, representing St. 
Stephen, although many have thought because the church 
was dedicated to St. Joseph he, and not Stephen, was the 
patron saint of the Acomese. 

On the wall to the left hang two pictures. One of these 
is the celebrated painting of St. Joseph, which was probably 
given to the Acomese by Charles ii of Spain, and was the 
occasion of such quarrels between the Acomese and the 
Lagunas, that ultimately the Supreme Court of New Mexico 
was called upon to settle the ownership. Judge Kirby 
Benedict, acting as chancellor, decided in favor of the 
Acomese. The case was appealed and the supreme judge 
affirmed the chancellor's decision, and added : 

The history of this painting, its obscure origin, its age, and 
the fierce contests which these two Indian pueblos have car- 
ried on, bespeak the inappreciable value which is placed upon 
it. The intrinsic value of the oil, paint, and cloth by which 
San Jose is represented to the senses, it has been admitted in 
argument, would not exceed twenty-five cents ; but this seem- 
ingly worthless painting has well nigh cost these two pueblos 
a bloody and cruel struggle, and had it not been for weakness 



114 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

on the part of one of the pueblos, its history might have been 
written in blood. . . . One witness swore that unless San Jose 
is in Acoma, the people cannot prevail with God. All these 
supposed virtues and attributes pertaining to this saint, and 
the belief that the throne of God can be successfully ap- 
proached only through him, have contributed to make this a 
case of deep interest, involving a portraiture of the feelings,- 
passions, and character of these peculiar people. 

But Acoma is too interesting to be wholly described in 
a few pages. That the intelligent traveler in the United 
States should make this a part of his itinerary there can 
be no question, though, as yet, it is somewhat difficult to 
secure accommodations. 

The best plan is to write to the Santa Fe Passenger 
Department, Railway Exchange Building, Chicago, for 
information, and then to Mr. Robert Marmon, Laguna, 
New Mexico, to see if he will provide accommodations, and 
take or send the prospective tourist to Acoma. 

For literature he should read Strange Corners of Our 
Country, The Spanish Pioneers, and The Land of Poco 
Tieinpo, all by Charles F. Lummis. 



CHAPTER XI 

OVER THE PAINTED DESERT TO THE HOPI 
SNAKE DANCE 

THIS is a camping-out trip. There is no other way to 
make it. It is over a hot and sandy desert, with the 
likelihood of sandstorms or rainstorms at any hour — that 
is, if one goes at the time the Snake Dance is to be per- 
formed. One has to cross the Little Colorado River, which 
sometimes rises six to ten feet overnight; there are no 
accommodations (in the sense that the American tourist 
regards the term) ; bedding, provisions, and feed for the 
horses must be taken along; and yet, in spite of these many 
disadvantages and discomforts, each year sees an increas- 
ing crowd cross the desert, from every quarter, in order 
to be present at the culminating ceremonies of the Hopis' 
prayer for rain, known as the Snake Dance. And though 
I myself have taken the refined and cultured city dwellers, 
women as well as men, even society dames used to all the 
luxuries that our sybaritic life affords, I have yet to hear 
one who did not say that this was the most memorable trip 
of a lifetime, and so far counterbalanced the hardships and 
discomforts as to render them inconsequential. 

The old Spaniards who first saw our great western land 
certainly were poets as well as explorers and soldiers. Their 
names were full of a rich poetry. Think of calling this 
wild land of color La Desierto Pintado — the Painted 

115 



116 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Desert. Yet that is exactly what it is. A vast palette 
board, on which vast and heroic tubes of color have been 
squeezed in prodigal profusion, and then spread over the 
landscape with a lavish hand. Here, too, are gloriously 
impressive mountains, crowned with the snows of blessing, 
and bathed in a wealth of glowing colors, changing hues, 
and tender tints that few have ever seen. Yonder is a nat- 
ural inkstand, larger than a tall New York skyscraper, from 
which, centuries ago, flowed fiery, inky lava, which has 
now solidified in dense blackness over scores of miles of 
surrounding country. Hemming it in, stand mountain- 
high plateaus, edged with bluffs, cliffs, and escarpments that 
delight the eye with their richness of coloring and won- 
drous variety of outline, and thrill with horror those who 
unexpectedly come upon their brinks. 

It is a land of fantastic carvings and rudely sculptured 
images, where water, wind, storm, sand, frost, heat, atmos- 
phere, and other agencies, unguided and uncontrolled by 
man, have combined to make figures more striking, more 
real, more picturesque, more ugly, more beautiful, and more 
fantastic than those of the angels, devils, saints, and sin- 
ners that crown and adorn the ancient pagan shrines of the 
Orient, and the modern Christian shrines of the Occident. 

Here sand mountains, yielding alike to the fierce winds 
of winter and the gentle breezes of summer, slowly travel 
from place to place, irresistibly controlling fresh sites and 
burying all that obstructs their path. 

Once there were vast lakes, in some portions of it, in 
which disported ugly monsters, and on the surface of which 
swam mighty fish-birds who gazed with curious wonder 
upon the enormous reptiles, birds, and animals which came 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 117 

to lave themselves in the cooling waters. Now lakes, fishes, 
reptiles, birds, and animals of that epoch have entirely dis- 
appeared. Where placid lakes once were lashed into fury 
by angry winds are now only sand wastes and water-worn 
rocks where the winds howl and shriek and rave and mourn 
the loss of the waters with which they used to sport; and 
the only reminders of the prehistoric fishes and reptiles 
are found in decaying bones or fossilized remains deep 
imbedded in the strata of the uncounted years. 

It is a land where at one time volcanic fires and fierce 
lava fiows, accompanied by deadly fumes, noxious gases, 
and burning flames, have made lurid the midnight skies 
and driven happy people from their peaceful homes. Yet, 
today, a mighty river roars madly in its confined passage- 
way to the sea, and like a vampire drains the whole country 
through which it passes; for, a few miles away from its 
brink, a spring that flows a few buckets of water in an hour 
is an inestimable treasure. In actual sight of this river 
thirsty men have hurled themselves headlong down thou- 
sand-feet-high precipices, crazy in their uncontrollable 
desire to reach the precious and inaccessible stream. 

Hence it is a desert, indeed, and yet in spots it is marvel- 
ously fertile, for there are rich and luxurious valleys, 
wooded slopes, and garden patches that yield abundantly 
of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and trees. 

Here, in its very heart, on three high mesas, or table- 
lands of rock, which are thrust out like fingers of a mis- 
shapen and mutilated hand, dwell the Hopi Indians — the 
Hopitiih Sliiniuno — the People of Peace. The mesas, 
rudely speaking, are ten miles apart, and they are commonly 
spoken of as the Eastern, Middle, and Western Mesas; or, 



118 OUR AM ERIC JN WONDERLANDS 

counting from the east, the first, second, and third. They 
are from 500 to 800 feet above the sandy desert beneath, 
where, in the washes, or where there is enough subterranean 
water for irrigation, the Hopis have planted out their small 
patches of corn, which they cultivate and care for with 
pathetic eagerness and watchfulness. 

While their home locations are strikingly picturesque, 
their architecture interesting, their social customs simple 
and archaic, it is undoubtedly their wonderful religious 
ceremonial, known as the Snake Dance, that has made the 
Hopi people famous throughout the modern world. Like 
all the Pueblo people, the Hopis are essentially religious. 
Half of their lives are spent in propitiating their diverse 
pantheon of gods, half -gods, and mythical beings, whose 
influence upon their lives they deem to be most potent. 
Dancing is one form of propitiating these superior beings. 
Smoking is another. Prayer still another, and singing com- 
bines with dancing, smoking, and prayer to make the peti- 
tions offered more effective. The result is that the Hopis 
have a calendar of ceremonies of such extent as to almost 
make one gasp. From four to sixteen days of every month 
are employed by some clan or other — day and night, con- 
tinuously — in these ceremonies, each of which has a dis- 
tinct significance, as is demanded by the " gods " for certain 
favors to be bestowed, the control of certain powers that 
show malignity, or the like. 

The Snake Dance is by far the most famous of these 
ceremonies, though by no means the most beautiful and 
attractive. It has been called by a large assortment of 
adjectives, many of which are untrvie and unjust. The 
dance has been characterized as " a wild orgy of disgusting 




Photo by aiilhor 



KOPI PUEBLO OF WALPI, ARIZONA 




Phoffl by A. C. T'ro})wu 

ARCFiWAY IN II OPT PUEBLO 




Photo hy author 



HOPI PUEBLO OF ORAIBI, ARIZONA 




t^t^M/rr^M '4i:..*t,^«i^ 




Coj^yrlght b_v F. H. Mnnde 



MOKI SNAKE DANCE 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 119 

savagery," but the fact is that, from beginning to end, it is 
conducted with a gravity, a cahnness, a solemnity, a dignity 
that is not surpassed by any religious ceremony of any 
church of the modern civilized world. Of course it is 
barbaric, and its strange and singular elements make it a 
wildly superstitious rite, but when one reasonably under- 
stands the legends upon which it is based it becomes a 
very different thing from that which it appears to the mere 
observer who sees it for the first time. 

The Snake Dance proper, namely, that part of the cere- 
monies witnessed by outsiders, lasts less than an hour on 
the close of nine days of secret ritual performed in the 
underground kiva. Whenever ceremonies are about to be 
observed in the kk'as certain symbols are hung upon the 
ladder poles to denote the fact, and woe to any person who 
dares intrude, even so far as to put his foot upon the roof 
of the sacred place, after the natcJii has been hung. 

In this, as in several other Hopi rites, two clans partici- 
pate. These are the clan or family of the Antelopes, and 
those of the Snakes. While these are but the names of 
families, their clanship and the esoteric rites committed to 
their care, in time develops a kind of secret " order " which 
has led many writers to refer to them as " fraternities," 
after the style of our Masons, Oddfellows, Knights of 
Pythias, etc. This is an error. The term clan is the better 
one, perhaps, to use. 

The date of the dance is not determined without great 
ceremonial. First the chief priest of the Antelopes orders 
the public crier or herald to announce, eight days ahead, 
that the date is fixed. To the strange visitor this is one 
of the things that strikes him as extra peculiar. The herald 



120 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

takes his position upon a housetop and shouts as loudly as 
he can the announcement he is required to make. 

On the same morning, exactly at sunrise, the priest places 
a line of sacred meal on a certain portion of the trail 
between the two villages at the end of the first mesa, and 
on this line of meal rests a na-kwa-kwo-chi, or several 
stranded cotton strings to which feathers are attached. 

We do not know, as yet, by what signs the priests deter- 
mine the date of the beginning of the ceremonies, but before 
the public announcement is made a ceremonial smoke is 
held by the more important priests and they determine the 
time. 

In the underground chamber the secret ceremonies com- 
prise the singing of certain dramatic songs, which give the 
history of their mythical hero, Tiyo, who brought the ritual 
of the Antelope and Snake clans from the underworld. On 
four separate days the snake priests visit north, west, south, 
and east, respectively, and hunt for snakes to be used in the 
open-air final dance. Other priests make the altar, which is 
composed of different colored sands sprinkled in most 
artistic fashion, upon the ground. 

The first eight days pass in ceremonies conducted in 
secrecy in the underground kiva, but, on the morning of 
the great day, the ninth, the Snake Race takes place. I have 
witnessed this several times, hence I will here quote what 
I wrote on one of the occasions, but have never before 
published. 

One of the priests went out to the starting point and 
sent the racers flying over the sand. In the meantime 
another one prepared the terminal goal for their arrival. 
Cloud symbols, falling rain, and pahos were arranged across 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 121 

the path, and other paJios were deposited in nearby shrines. 
Then, with a crook in one hand and a tray of sacred meal 
in the other, the chief priest stood awaiting the racers. At 
length one of the most keen-eyed of the spectators declared 
he could see a racer, two, three, in the far-away distant 
valley. Soon the figures grew more distinct, and then began 
cjuiet cries of recognition, and one could feel the suppressed 
excitement of the spectators. Yet there was no outward 
show, no shouting, no urging of the runners to greater 
endeavor. Rather one felt that here was some struggle 
going on which the onlookers regarded as sacred, and that 
quiet prayers were being uttered that loved ones might win. 

Nearer and nearer they came. The excitement visibly 
increased. Bodies were leaned far out in the intensity of the 
watching. Children spoke out to each other, and now and 
again turned to their parents in cjuestioning, or to tell what 
they saw. Now the racers were close enough to be seen 
with distinctness, an irregular, wavy line of bronze beings 
in swift motion. Naked save for the breech-clout and moc- 
casins, long black hair whipping behind in the morning 
breeze and the swiftness of motion, bodies glistening with 
sweat, it was a stirring sight. Here, indeed, was living 
poetry, Greece, Rome of ancient days actually set down 
before us. What graceful runners they were. How beau- 
tiful their nude bodies appeared. How wonderful in the 
manifest endeavors they were making to win ! The trail was 
sandy and heavy. One wondered how they could possibly 
run at all for any length of time over so soft a footpath, 
and yet they were coming towards us at a terrific gait, and 
there was little sign of lagging or of giving up. 

They had come at that wind-breaking pace several miles, 



122 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

and yet seemed to be as agile, as fresh, as resilient in body 
as if they had but started. That was the growing wonder. 
They were not fagged out. They were still actually racing. 
See! one little fellow, sixth in line, suddenly makes a splen- 
did spurt of speed. Slipping to the right, out into the soft 
sand, he leaps past the man ahead of him, aye, of two, and 
becomes fourth instead of sixth. The ones ahead must feel 
the new pressure intuitively, for they press forward with 
extra speed. One of them makes a similar attempt, but 
cannot make it, and falls back to his old place, only to be 
outdistanced, the next moment, by the one behind him, 
who dashes ahead. 

Now they reach the foot of the trail, and just before they 
do so the third youth leaps forth as if shot by a catapult. 
The burst of speed was terrific, splendid, wonderful, a most 
marvelous exhibition of reserve power. You felt that he 
had been purposely waiting for this special moment, had 
trained himself for it in the days, weeks, months, that had 
preceded the race, so that now, with absolute confidence, at 
the critical moment he took the first place from which it 
seemed impossible anyone could dislodge him. With an 
upward spring, his foot was the first to feel the rock of the 
ladder-like ascent, the final lap of the race, the climb that 
makes a white man gasp and pause a dozen times as he 
comes up leisurely. 

But here were these youths bounding up like young deer, 
or chamois, actually bounding up, two steps at a time, after 
running ten miles or more over the sand. \\^onderful ! 
Marvelous ! Unbelievable ! For a time we lost sight of first 
one, then another, in the windings of the trail. Expectancy 
grows. Can they keep it up ? 




Photo by author 

ANTELOPE PRIESTS AT WALPI, HOPI SNAKE DANCE 




A 



'} 



Photo l-y ,;:'■;, r 

THE TRAIL TO WALPI UP WHICH THE RACERS ASCEND 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 123 

Then, to our infinite amazement, the impossible takes place. 
The youth who lost first place at the foot of the trail, at a 
favorable moment and spot, does the incredible thing of 
out-and-up leaping, passing his competitor, on that steep 
flight of steps. With an expenditure of will power and 
dynamic force that reveals the power of the mind over a 
perfectly disciplined body he shoots upwards, and everyone 
knows he is the victor. The chief priest steps forward with 
dignity and calmness to meet him. Another priest salutes 
him with the throwing toward him of a mechanical con- 
trivance that makes the diamonds and zigzags of the 
lightning. He is sprinkled with sacred meal, receives a 
palio, and passes on. Then, one by one, and still exuberant 
instead of exhausted, the other racers come up the trail. 

The winner has gone ahead to the kiva, donning a calico 
shirt some one belonging to him hands him on the way, and 
there, wath due solemnity, one of the priests gives him some 
other token of his supremacy in this race. And the race 
has been so well timed that the racers reach the kiva just at 
sunrise, w^hen the ceremony, down below, of the Dramatiza- 
tion of the Sixteen Songs is nearing its close. 

This, indeed, is the great day. The Snake Priests wear 
their snake kilts all day and are characteristically decorated. 
Several of them went out and hunted in the fields for more 
snakes, bringing in anything they happened to find. 

Washing of the Snakes. At noon the most thrilling part 
of the whole ceremonies takes place, not even excepting the 
open-air dance later in the day. This transpires in the 
secrecy of the kii'a, and elsewhere * I have recounted how 

* The Indians of the Painted Desert Region, by George Wharton 
James. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 



124 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

hard I found it to be allowed to remain. But I did so, and 
in due time took my place on the ground among the priests, 
as if I were one of them. 

Soon after the noon hour the father of the chief priest 
brought down the ladder a large bowl, which, with elaborate 
ceremony, he placed in its designated place. None of the 
priests spoke above a whisper, and everything indicated the 
awful solemnity they all felt, and that the most important 
rite of all was about to begin. Try to imagine the scene 
when all was ready. The underground chamber had been 
hewn largely out of the solid rock, some twelve or fourteen 
feet square. The only light there was came down the hatch- 
way, out of which protruded the long poles of the ladder. 
At its foot to the right the bowl, in which the snakes were 
to be washed, was placed, and around it sat six of the most 
important of the priests, headed by the chief priest. Behind 
the ladder, on the raised stone bench of the kiva, were the 
several pottery jars, or ollas, in which the snakes had been 
placed preparatory to this hour, and two priests had charge 
of these. The snakes had been gathered, with great cere- 
mony, on separate days, from one of the cardinal points, 
until North. South. East, West, and " here " had been covered. 
At the other end of the room was the snake altar, with two 
attendants, and the rest of the space was occupied by the 
priests, squatted cross-legged upon the floor, each with a 
rattle in his left hand, amongst whom I had- taken my place. 

After the ceremonial pipe had been lit by the pipe-lighter, 
it was handed to the Snake Chief, who puffed smoke several 
times into the liquid, and then passed the pipe along. Then, 
swiftly, began and transpired the actual snake-washing. 
which I will let Dr. Fewkes describe, though four times I 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 125 

have been privileged to witness it, and actually take part 
in it: 

Just then the Snake priests, who stood by the snake jars, 
began to take out the reptiles, and stood holding several of 
them in their hands behind Su-pe-la, so that my attention was 
distracted by them. Su-pe-la then prayed, and after a short 
interval two rattlesnakes were handed him, after which other 
venomous snakes were passed to the others, and each of the 
six priests who sat around the bowl held two rattlesnakes by 
the necks, with their heads elevated above the bowl. 

A low noise from the rattles of the priests, which shortly 
after was accompanied by a melodious hum by all present, 
then began. The priests who held the snakes beat time up and 
down above the liquid with the reptiles, which, although not 
vicious, wound their bodies around the arms of the holders. 
The song went on and frequently changed, growing louder 
and wilder, until it burst forth into a fierce, blood-curdling 
yell, or war-cry. At this moment the heads of the snakes were 
thrust several times into the liquid, so that even parts of their 
bodies were submerged, and were then drawn out, not having 
left the hands of the priests, and forcibly thrown across the 
room upon the sand-mosaic (the altar), knocking down the 
crooks and other objects placed about it. 

As they fell on the sand-picture three snake priests stood 
in readiness, and while the reptiles squirmed about or coiled 
for defense, these men with their snake-whips brushed them 
back and forth in the sand of the altar. The excitement which 
attended this ceremony cannot be adequately described. The 
low song, breaking into piercing shrieks, the red-stained sing- 
ers, the snakes thrown by the chiefs, and the fierce attitudes 
of the reptiles as they landed on the sand-mosaic, made it 
next to impossible to sit calmly down and quietly note the 
events which followed one after another in quick succession. 
The sight haunted me for weeks afterwards, and I can never 
forget this wildest of all the aboriginal rites of this strange 
people, which showed no element of our present civilization. 
It was a performance which might have been expected in the 
heart of Africa rather than in the American Union, and cer- 



126 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

tainly one could not realize that he was in the United States 
at the end of the nineteenth century. The low, weird song 
continued while other rattlesnakes were taken in the hands 
of the priests, and as the song rose again to the wild war- 
cry, these snakes were also plunged into the liquid and thrown 
upon the writhing mass which now occupied the place of the 
altar. Again and again this was repeated until all the snakes 
had been treated in the same way, and reptiles, fetishes, crooks, 
and sand were mixed together in one confused mass. As the 
excitement subsided and the snakes crawled to the corners of 
the kiva, seeking vainly for protection, they were again pushed 
back into the mass, and brushed together in the sand in order 
that their bodies might be thoroughly dried. Every snake in 
the collection was thus washed, the harmless varieties being 
bathed after the venomous. In the destruction of the altar 
by the reptiles the snake tiponi stood upright until all had been 
washed, and then one of the priests turned it on its side, as a 
sign that the observance had ended. The low, weird song of 
the snake men continued, and gradually died away until there 
was no sound but the warning rattle of the snakes mingled 
with that of the rattles in the hands of the chiefs, and finally 
the motion of the snake-whips ceased, and all was silent. 

But the ceremony was not wholly finished, although the 
snakes had been thrown into "their home," the sand picture, 
and thoroughly dried by the sand. Su-pe-la sprinkled sacred 
meal in the liquid in which the snakes had been bathed, and 
threw a pinch of the same to each of the six cardinal points. 
He then prayed, and as he did so, all the assembled priests 
responded, while those who had handled the snakes washed 
their hands in the liquid, and rubbed it on their breasts and 
other parts of their bodies. K6-pe-li (the chief priest) also 
prayed fervently, and sprinkled meal in the liquid, followed 
by some of the remaining snake priests.* 

I have thus quoted from Dr. Fewkes that my readers 

might know in the language of a cool, deliberate man of 

science, what definitely transpired. He stood as an onlooker. 

*"The Snake Ceremonials at Walpi." Journal of American Ethnology, 
vol. iv. pp. 84-85. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 127 

On the other hand I was an actual participant. I was seated 
in the midst of the priests on the floor. I joined in the 
song, and learned exactly when to burst forth into the ear- 
splitting and hair-raising war-cry. And in one of the 
ceremonies I had a personal experience with a rattlesnake 
which it may be interesting to recount. In this instance all 
the snakes were not kept on the altar during the progress 
of the ceremony, for, leaning up to look, I was surprised 
to find it almost bare of snakes. I then found they were 
given the freedom of the room and were all about us. 

Suddenly I felt a peculiar sensation on my right knee. 
Looking down, there was a good-sized rattler, fully five feet 
long, his head upreared and resting on my right knee, while 
he swayed his head, first to one side and then to the other, 
as if he were studiously examining me with one eye and 
then the other, as much as to say, "What are you doing here. 
You're no Hopi?" I did not feel altogether comfortable 
under this intense personal scrutiny, nor was my embarrass- 
ment relieved when I observed that the two priests, one on 
each side of me, had caught sight of the snake and were 
keenly alive to what was taking place. I felt they were 
watching me, and more eager to see what I would do, rather 
than what the snake would do. 

It is impossible fully to explain the sudden impulses that 
seize one and that demand that one do what the moment 
before he would have deemed an impossibility. This was 
such a moment. My subconscious self seemed to say: 
"These men are watching you. Now's your time. Seize 
the snake and the opportunity to make them your friends 
for life!" Acting on the impulse, I grasped the snake 
around the neck, very gently, but very firmly, and raised 



128 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

him up, holding the flat of my left hand to receive him. 
He quietly rested and then coiled on it, while I put my hand 
over him and stroked him as I had seen the priests do. As 
quietly as if he were a pet kitten he remained under my 
warm hand, while the priest on my right, delighted w^ith 
my friendly action to the " Elder Brother," patted me 
gently on the knee, the while exclaiming in his soft, sweet 
voice, Lolomai! Lolomai! — Good! Good! The priest on 
my left gave me an extra pat, an emphatic Lololatui! Lolo- 
lami! — Very good! Very good! 

Seeing that he was so pleased, I silently handed him the 
snake, which he placed on the ground, and we joined again 
in the song. 

When all the snakes were washed the chief priests took 
away the charm liquid in its bowl, and also the jars in 
which the snakes had been kept. Other priests herded the 
snakes to one side of the kiva, and then all retired save one, 
who was left to guard the snakes. When I went in for the 
ceremony I had braved all risks, and unheeded all remon- 
strances, pretending not to understand them, and had taken 
my large tripod camera down into the kiva. I knew where 
the snakes would be "herded," and that I might have an 
opportunity to make a photograph. I had measured the 
distance, arranged the focus, put in the plate-holder and 
removed the slide, setting the shutter and putting on the cap 
for a cap exposure. Now was my chance. Keeping the 
priest out of the way, I secretly slipped off the cap, and 
allowed the plate to remain exposed for fully five minutes, 
and the accompanying picture is the result. This, I believe, 
was the first time any photograph was ever made of the 
snakes in the kiva, as mine was the first time, so my Hopi 




< - 



H 5 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 129 

friends assure me, that a white man had ever actually par- 
ticipated in the ceremony. 

The Snake Dance. During the afternoon the priests pre- 
pare for the public ceremony, in the dance-plaza, of the 
Snake Dance. The general writer describes it as a wild, 
frenzied, fanatical ceremony, hideous, repulsive, and dis- 
gusting; and he gives vivid word pictures of crazily-excited 
savages, in a half-nude condition, shrieking, yelling, and 
gesticulating in a manner suggestive of an asylum of the. 
violently insane, while they toss around and handle ven- 
omous snakes with an utter disregard of dangerous 
consequences. Such descriptions are utterly false and mis- 
leading. There is nothing that justifies these wild stories. 
A far more accurate and reliable story is that written by 
Hamlin Garland: 

At five o'clock the plaza surrounding the sacred rock was 
heaped and piled with people. There were representatives 
from the other six villages ; there were cowboys from south- 
ern Colorado and from Holbrook ; there were Navahos from 
the great reservation to the east; there were reporters for 
eastern papers ; there were scientists from Boston, New York, 
and Chicago ; there were teachers from the Hopi school at 
Keams Canyon. 

Upon every cornice, every roof, every adobe balcony, the 
Hopis themselves were gathered, attired in the most brilliant 
and the quaintest costumes. The buildings rising against the 
deep blue cloudless sky, covered with these barbaric colors, 
made a picture worthy the brush of the finest artist. As a 
painter said, "It was a salon picture." Nothing can be com- 
pared with it except possibly the final feast of Holy Week 
in some interior Mexican town. The white people laughed, 
the dogs and children made tumult, while the crowd waited 
patiently the incoming of the Snake men. Below, on the valley 
floor the cloud shadows floated like boats on a yellow sea. 

As I stood near the kisi of cottonwood boughs a man passed 



130 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

me with a bag containing something heavy ; for an instant I 
could not reaHze that the bag contained snakes ; he handled 
it as if it contained sand, and the reptiles made no noise. So 
matter of fact were his actions, few observed his entrance. 
I returned to the kiva and waited the coming of the priests. 
Two children emerged first from the Antelope kiva, little tots 
hardly more than five or six years of age, striped like their 
elders with kaolin, with little chins whitened and foreheads 
blackened, with strings of beads looped about their necks and 
rattles in their hands. The little fellows ranged themselves 
up near the corner of the nearest house and waited the coming 
of their elders. It was wonderful to see with what dignity 
these chubby little babes bore themselves. They did not allow 
themselves to smile nor to notice the other youngsters about 
them. 

The asperger came next, an old man carrying a bowl of 
charm liquid. While the rest climbed out behind him, he busied 
himself in sprinkling the way to the Snake kiva; the other 
Antelopes following scattered from their right hand a pinch 
of meal into the open door of the Snake kiva. The rear was 
brought up by the whizzer, an old man dressed in completely 
archaic costume, carrjang two small pieces of board attached 
to strings. These he whirled sharply, making a sound resem- 
bling thunder and hail. 

After they had all passed through the narrow street and 
upon the plaza, the Snake priests came up from below. They 
took down the sign which hung upon the ladder, and which 
was always present during the last four days of their occupancy 
of the kiva, and slowly formed into line. Each man had the 
upper part of his face blackened, and the lower part of the 
face whitened. Each carried a bunch of eagle feathers in 
his hair, and from his belt behind streamed the complete skin 
of a fox. Each wore a short cotton kilt, ornamented with a 
figure of the Great Plumed Serpent. Many of them, if not all 
of them, wore upon the right leg a small turtle-shell rattle. 
Their whole dress was splendidly barbaric, and their faces 
were very intent, almost solemn. There was, however, no 
sign of abnormal excitement. They talked among themselves 
in low tones, and ranged themselves in line. There were no 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 131 

signs of hypnotizing and no sign of the strain under which 
they had been laboring for nine successive days. 

At a signal from the leader, Kopeli, they entered the plaza 
in single file, on a rapid walk, and after circling the plaza, 
ranged themselves in a slightly curved line before the tent of 
Cottonwood boughs in which the snakes were placed, and on 
each side of which the fifteen Antelope priests stood in line 
singing a wild and guttural chant. It was almost a repetition 
of the corn dance of the day before. 

Standing thus, the Snake chiefs shook their snake whips with 
a peculiarly quickening action, in time to the rattles and the 
chanting of the Antelopes, stamping also with the right foot. 
The whole line swayed rhythmically as they rose and fell in 
this measured step from the right foot to the left. The song 
changed to a deep, musical, humming sound ; the asperger stood 
before the kisi asperging to the cardinal points. The Snake 
men did not sing at any time. 

A wilder hum arose, a portentous, guttural, snarling sound, 
which passed soon to a strong, manly, marching chant, full of 
sudden, deep-falling, stern cadences. Then Kopeli, the Snake 
chief, and the one second to him joined arms and danced 
slowly down before the kisi. They stopped, and when they 
rose Kopeli held in his mouth a snake. His companion placed 
his left arm over the Snake chief's shoulders, and together 
they turned, circling to the left. The snake hung quietly from 
the Snake priest's mouth. It was held at about nine inches 
from the head. Behind him walked the third man, the snake 
gatherer. They passed with a quick, strong step, one might 
almost say with a lope, in time to the singing. 

Immediately behind came another group, the snake carrier 
holding an entire snake in his mouth, the head protruding 
about an inch. These two were followed by a third man, the 
snake gatherer; and soon the entire line of thirty-three Snake 
priests had broken into eleven groups and were circling the 
plaza, one man in each group carrying from one to three 
snakes in his mouth. The singing continued, stern and swift 
like a strong stream, and although at times the dancers lost 
step to the music, in general they may be said to have retained 
throughout all the rush of movement a tolerable accuracy of 



132 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

rhythm. A group of women stood near and threw sacred meal 
upon the men as they passed. They kept far from contact, I 
observed. The excitement of the spectators increased. I pushed 
close to the circle of dancing priests to study their faces. 

One man passed with an enormous bull snake in his mouth. 
Its tail hung down to his knee. Each snake carrier danced 
with his eyes closed and his chin thrust forward. The reasons 
for this were obvious. The little snakes were the most vicious, 
and struck repeatedly at the eyes and cheeks of the priests. 
Several of them seized upon the skin, and held on until 
brushed away by the whip of the "hugger." In every case 
which I observed the rattlesnakes hung peaceful, and without 
any action whatever, from the mouths of the dancers, and 
only struck or coiled to strike after falling upon the bare rock. 
Their coats seemed dry or dusty. 

One man went by v/ith two large rattlesnakes in his mouth. 
Another held a rattlesnake and two larger bull snakes between 
his lips ; and a third priest, to silence all question of his 
superiority, crowded into his mouth four snakes ! The gath- 
erer who followed him held in the fingers of his left hand six 
or eight snakes, strung like pieces of rope. In fact, they all 
handled the snakes precisely as if they were skeins of yarn, 
with the single exception of the moment when they snatched 
them from the ground. 

Once or twice there was a brief struggle between the snake 
gatherer and the fallen snake. In every case which I observed 
the snake gatherer brushed the snake with the feathers of his 
snake whip until he uncoiled and straightened out to run. 
After the gatherer picked him up he was as helpless as if dead. 

As the dance went on the excitement grew. The clink of 
metal fringes and the patter of rattles filled the ear. The snakes 
dashed into the crowd, shouts and screams and laughter arose, 
but the wary snake gatherer in every case caught the snake 
before it passed out of reach. In one or two instances when 
a rattlesnake ran toward the women with their basket plaques 
of meal, they broke into wild screams and ran. Evidently they 
feared the rattlesnakes quite as much as any of the white 
women. At least, so deep was my interest to see, that I lost 
all sense of hearing. They all moved like figures in a dream. 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 133 

During all this time, whatever the outcries among the spec- 
tators, whatever the screams or laughter among the women 
with the meal, the Snake priests, intent and grave, showed no 
trace whatever of excitement. It is absurd to speak of hyp- 
notism or frenzy of any kind. They were not in the slightest 
degree moved either to fear or laughter, or even to the point 
of being hastened or retarded by the presence of the white man. 
They had a religious duty to perform, and they were carrying 
it forward, intent, masterful, solemn, and perfectly silent. 
Incredible, thrilling, savage, and dangerous as it appeared to 
us, to them it was a world-old religious ceremonial. 

At last, when all the snakes had been carried, and when each 
snake gatherer held in his hand huge bundles of the appar- 
ently inert serpents, the Antelopes and the snake gatherers 
formed a swift circle. As they waited, Kopeli drew a circle 
of meal upon the ground, and all the snakes were thrown in 
a tangled, writhing heap within this circle. Then the women 
rushed timorously forward and sprinkled meal over the writh- 
ing mass. Then, most wonderful of all, before the swiftest 
serpent could escape, the priests snatched them up in handfuls, 
and started with them down the sides of the mesa. In an 
incredibly short time every snake had been whipped from the 
ground and was in the hands of these runners. Each man 
carried from eight to twelve, indiscriminately snatched up. 
This whole action of heaping the snakes within the circle, 
covering them with the meal, and snatching them up again was 
all done in the space of a few seconds. 

The snakes, "the Elder Brothers," had taken part in the 
dance, their heads had been sprinkled with meal, the prayers to 
the gods had been whispered to them ; they were now to return 
to the fields to carry the messages of the Snake priests to the 
gods of rain and plenty. 

On the southern side of the mesa I stood to watch two of 
these marvellous runners. They ran with the speed of goats 
down the precipitous slopes and out over the sandy foothills. 
At a distance possibly of half a mile from the foot of the 
mesa, under a huge rock, they knelt down, uttered a little 
prayer, and released the snakes. In returning they mounted 
the steep paths with almost undiminished speed. Other run- 



134 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

ners went to the east, to the south, to the west. In twenty 
minutes from the time the Snake priests had ranged themselves 
before the kisi, a hundred snakes, half of them rattlesnakes, 
had been carried around the plaza in the mouths of eleven 
men, had been dropped upon the floor of the plaza, recovered 
by the snake gatherers, thrown into a heap, sprinkled with 
meal, snatched up by eight men, and carried back into the open 
country. During this time no one had been bitten, no smallest 
snake had escaped in the crowd which closely pressed upon 
the Snake priests, and, so far as could be told, no ill thing 
had occurred. This was the climax of the incredible, and I 
could not believe it had I not witnessed it. As I look back 
upon it, it is akin to the sense-defying action of dreams. 

Meanwhile the Antelopes had calmly finished their singing 
and had marched back to the Antelope kiva. The remaining 
Snake priests had also retired to their kwa, and were divest- 
ing themselves of their snake whips and rattles, and other 
removable parts of their regalia. 

There now occurred a singular scene on the north side of 
the village, on the edge of the cliff. This was the vomiting of 
the priests. It has been called a ludicrous sight ; certainly it 
is an unusual thing to see thirty men drinking an emetic at the 
same moment. But I felt little inclination to laugh, for it 
showed how severe had been the strain upon the devotees. It 
was no joke. They had been fasting for thirty-six hours. 
They had been forced to live for five or six days with a hun- 
dred snakes in a close underground chamber. They had held 
the writhing bodies of from five to twelve snakes in their 
mouths. They may have been bitten by the snakes. Whatever 
the purpose of this retching, certainly it was a grim and heroic 
treatment. They passed through it with so much of dignity 
as any man may. They made no talk among themselves or to 
those standing about. As in all the other ceremonies, they 
were composed, serious, and intent. 

This, however, was the final and severest part of the cere- 
mony. They were now permitted to drink copiously of clean 
water. They also immediately unbent. They smiled and 
greeted their acquaintances standing about. And now a pretty 
custom intervened. There came into their group five or six 



THE HOPI SNAKE DANCE 135 

young girls, daughters and sweethearts, we may suppose, to 
help the priests wash the paint from their bodies. It added 
a fine touch of clean, sane domesticity to the scene. The girls 
had no sense of false shame. They laughed and chatted as 
they splashed the water over the glistening, brown bodies of 
the men. It would be impossible to see elsewhere in America 
another such scene. It humanized these people. It took away 
all feeling of savagery from these men. They were priests. 
They were performing in a traditional ceremony. The cere- 
mony itself had in it something of the barbarity of the olden 
time, but their pleasant and smiling faces as they received water 
from the hands of their women had no trace of ferocity left. 
The fitting close to this remarkable, and in many respects 
beautiful, drama and religious ceremony was the procession 
of women bearing gifts of bread and meats to the kiva. They 
came with seriousness and reverence, carrying in their uplifted 
hands steaming stews, piles of blue piki bread, and golden 
mush. This disappeared down the kiva mouth, enough pro- 
vision to last a hundred men a week.* 

Naturally the inquiring mind of the thoughtful w^hite 
man asks what it is all about, what is its real significance. 
All study and investigation points but to one answer. The 
Snake Dance and all its attendant ceremonies is an elaborate 
prayer for rain, in which the Elder Brothers of the Snake 
and Antelope gentcs must take part. They are, therefore, 
gathered from the fields for that purpose, and specifically 
intrusted with the prayers of the human participants, and 
then given their liberty to bear these petitions to their 
Snake Mother and other divinities who have the power to 
send the blessing of copious rains upon the otherwise arid 
and parched farms of the Hopi. And, singular — or is it 
singular — to relate, in the thirteen times I have witnessed 
the ceremonies I have never once known the rain to fail — 
though, sometimes, it has come a few days before the public 
dance instead of after it. 

* Harper's Weekly, August 15, i8g6, pp. 806-7. 



CHAPTER XII 

OVER THE LAVA FIELDS TO THE " SEVEN CITIES 
OF CIBOLA" 

WHEN the old Spanish conquistadores crossed what is 
now Arizona and New Mexico they sought as easy 
a road as was possible under the conditions. So does the 
ordinary modern tourist and traveler. On the other hand, 
there are a few who are willing to travel the rockiest 
road, and endure hardships, if thereby they may see and 
learn something of the great land they are proud to call 
their own. Only travelers of the latter type should try to 
go to the "Seven Cities of Cibola" — Zuni — by way of the 
lava fields. The others should go to Gallup, obtain an auto- 
mobile and ride there over fairly good roads. But we are 
on a sight-seeing expedition — a geological banquet. 

All the way along from Albuquerque, New Mexico, on 
the main line of the Santa Fe, the observant traveler has 
observed evidences of volcanic activity. Near the Indian 
village of Laguna, on the left-hand side, the lava is a very 
prominent feature, and remains in sight for miles, close to 
the course of the San Jose Creek (sometimes a turbulent 
river), which has cut its way down and formed the valley 
through which the railway runs. Mile after mile it is passed, 
a long grayish-black streak on the landscape, clearly reveal- 
ing a great outflow from one or more vents, for no volcanic 
cone is to be seen until much farther west. This is Mount 

136 



"SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA'' 137 

San Mateo, one of the sacred mountains of the Navahos, 
and called by them Tsotsil. It was named Mount Taylor, in 
1849, by Lieut. Simpson, of the United States Army, in 
honor of the then president. To us it is particularly inter- 
esting, for from it has flowed a vast amount of the lava of 
this region. Rising up out of the valleys east and north of 
San Mateo are several other prominent volcanic peaks. The 
chief of these is called by the Mexicans El Cahczon, or " The 
Great Head." The Navahos tell an interesting legend about 
this and the surrounding lava flows. It is to the effect that 
one of the gods, whom they were terribly afraid of, was a 
cannibalistic monster, named Yeitso, who used to feed upon 
the bodies of men, women, and children. For years they 
submitted to the devastations of this fierce giant, until 
there arose a hero who, with the aid of the gods and his 
brother, slew the monster, and cut off his head. According 
to the Navaho legend, as recorded by Dr. Washington 
Matthews : 

They cut off his head and threw it av/ay to the other side 
of Tsotsil, where it may be seen today on the eastern side of 
the mountain. The blood from the body now flowed in a 
great stream down the valley, so great that it broke down 
the rock wall that bounded the old lake and flowed on. Niltsi 
whispered to the brothers : " The blood flows toward the dwell- 
ing of the Binaye Ahani (others of the magic-working gods 
who were enemies of the Navaho) ; if it reaches them, Yeitso 
will come to life again." Then Nayenezgani took his knife 
club, and drew with it across the valley a line. Here the blood 
stopped flowing and piled itself up in a high wall. But when 
it had piled up here very high it began to flow again off in 
another direction, and Niltsi again whispered : " It now flows 
toward the dwelling of the Bear that pursues ; if it reaches 
him, Yeitso will come to life again." Hearing this, Nayenez- 
gani again drew a line with his knife on the ground, and 



138 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

again the blood piled up and stopped flowing. The blood of 
Yeitso fills all the valley today, and the high cliffs in the black 
rock that we see there now are the places where Nayenezgani 
stopped the flow with his knife.* 

The whole country as far w^est as the San Francisco 
Mountains in Arizona bears evidence of great volcanic activ- 
ity at, at least, three separate periods. South of the railway 
at McCarty's and Grant's Stations are vast lava areas, and 
one can trace a great flow from the Agua Fria crater. This 
crater is almost completely surrounded by trees, and they 
have clambered up its sides almost to the summit. One 
side of it is so steep and covered with disintegrated pieces 
of lava that it is almost impossible to climb it, while the 
other side has a comparatively easy slope. Standing on 
the rim of the gigantic bowl, it takes a little time to grasp 
the majestic proportions. The solid rock makes sheer drop 
into the dizzying abyss, and on the bottom, which is dimly 
to be discerned, an immense tree is growing up. Nearly 
opposite to where w^e stand the whole side of the crater is 
broken dow^n for about three-fourths the general height, and 
the appearance suggested that out of this vast break the 
molten flood must have poured. The crater looks as if it 
must be from 1,500 to 2,000 feet across, and from 700 to 
800 feet deep. Now imagine the scene before and after this 
break occurred. The great crater was then a bubbling, 
seething mass of incandescent molten rock. Watch it boil- 
ing and lifting up bubbles which burst and let out the poi- 
sonous gases like a magic cauldron of devil's mush almost 
ready to be served. Every once in a while a mass of the 

* Navaho Legends, by Washington Matthews. Published for the 
American Folk Lore Society by Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. 




Courtesy of I . S. Geological Survey 

LAVA " NECKS," OR " HEADS " 

OVERLOOKING THE GREAT LAVA FIELD OF NEW MEXICO 




Courtesy of U. S. Geological Surrey 

LAVA "NECK" 










F/iofo bv F. H. Maude 

PLAZA IN THE PUEBLO OF ZUNL NEW .AlEXICO 




Plwto /ly George Whnrton James 

ZUNI INDIANS MAKING BEAD NECKLACES 



"SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA" 139 

surrounding bowl crumbles and falls into the "mush pot," 
and, suddenly, with a great crash and a muffled roar the 
wall on the north breaks, and gives way to the pressure of 
the mass of liquid within. Down it falls with a noise that 
can be heard for miles and out pours the wild, raging flood 
with its fierce heat, to spread over the valley. 

For days and days it spread in every direction, flowing 
down canyons, filling up depressions, and penetrating every- 
where. At the first great outburst the wall of flaming and 
roaring fire-liquid must have been fully five hundred feet 
high. What could withstand its fierce oncoming! 

The further away it got from the crater the more it cooled. 
Then began to occur miniature explosions which we can 
even today clearly trace and understand. As the molten 
rock flows, the exterior mass rapidly cools and solidifies, 
while the interior of the mass remains liquid and flows on. 
Thus we have the peculiar spectacle of a flowing body that 
emerges from a tunnel of its own making, almost as if one 
had hold of the end of a gigantic sausage, which, as he 
pulled upon it, magically extended its length while still 
remaining at about the same size. The tunnels thus formed 
of the cooled shell of the lava were held in place by the 
pressure of the gases developed by the intense heat. Occa- 
sionally a great gas bubble would burst, fill the tunnel so 
far with its volume, the pressure of which the slight shell 
could not resist, and there would be an explosion. In such 
a case the rock would turn up on end, be shattered, fall 
into the hole caused by the explosion, and nothing but a 
wild, jagged mass of rocks with sharpened edges be exposed. 
In other cases the tunnels would remain in the form of 
caves, and some of these I have followed for quite a dis- 



140 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

tance, high enough, in places, to allow a man on horseback 
to ride comfortably. 

In some cases the half molten rock was turned over by 
the expanding gases until it seems as if a gigantic plow- 
share, able to turn a furrow forty or fifty feet high, had 
come along and plowed it up in this stupendous fashion. In 
many places the lava has the appearance of miles and miles 
of gigantic black cauliflowers, into w'hich garden some fierce 
demon, possessed with the spirit of destructiveness, had 
entered with a club, with which he had struck right and 
left, breaking the " flowers " of the vegetables into pieces of 
every size and shape and scattering them in every direction. 

Several days may be spent in following these lava flows, 
in ascending Mt. San Mateo, and tracing the remnants of 
the earlier flows. One must be prepared for such explora- 
tion, however, as the rocks are so sharp and cutting that 
a pair of ordinary shoes are cut into strips in the course 
of a few hours. 

Leaving the lava fields one now turns his attention to 
Zuni, for so do the Indians call the mythical " Seven Cities 
of Cibola" of the early Spanish explorers. On the way we 
pass, not far from the home of Don Leopoldo Mazon, at 
Tina i as, the interesting Inscription Rock, where the explor- 
ers of two and three hundred, and more, years ago left their 
autographs upon the faces of the cliff. This is one of the 
most fascinating historic records of the world. Many of 
the inscriptions are as clear, almost, as the day they were 
written, and are the unquestioned work of the men (or their 
followers) whose names they bear and whose journey ings 
they briefly record. 

Juan de Ofiate (1605). De Vargas (1692), Silva Nieto 



"SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA" 141 

(1629), Juan Paez Hurtado (1736), Basconzelos (1726), 
and Archuleta (1636), are amongst the number, and the 
dates are those of the time when they camped under the 
shadow of this imposing cHff. One of the inscriptions is of 
particular interest to us, on account of its reference to the 
Zuni we are going to visit. It is in the abbreviated Spanish 
of the times and, translated, reads : " They passed on the 
23rd of March, of the year 1632, to the avenging of the 
death of the Father Letrado. (Signed) Lujan." Father 
Letrado was a Franciscan missionary who sought to intro- 
duce civilization and Christianity to the Zunis. In Feb- 
ruary, 1630, they murdered him. The Governor of New 
Mexico, Francisco de la Mora Ceballos, sent a handful of 
soldiers from Santa Fe under the command of Colonel 
Tomas de Albizu to avenge his death, and it is possible that 
the Lujan of the inscription was a soldier of this expedition. 
When the soldiers arrived at Zuni, they found the pueblo 
was deserted and the people had established themselves in 
new homes on the summit of Thunder Mountain, a massive 
island of rock a few miles away, reminding one somewhat 
of the rock of Acoma, described in Chapter x. With great 
tact and diplomacy Albizu persuaded them to return to 
their homes, and on promises of amendment and future 
good conduct, their murder of Father Letrado was for- 
given. 

Of Zuni itself much might be written, but space demands 
that I be brief. A most fascinating story of the Zunis is to 
be found in three back numbers of the Century Magazine, 
dated December, 1882, and February and May, 1883, in 
which Lieutenant Frank H. Cushing tells " My Adventures 
in Zuni," and a most exhaustive but absorbingly interesting 



142 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

account of these people is presented in the Twenty-third 
Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, written by 
my learned friend, Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, as the 
result of many years of life among them. 

Zuni is now known to have been the Cibola of the search 
of Coronado and the early Spanish conquistadores. It was 
in 1540 that the swashbuckling Spaniards crossed the moun- 
tains, the deserts, the sandy wastes, and the Indian-infested 
regions of Northern Sonora and New Mexico, but they 
were sadly disappointed in that they did not find the same 
fabulous wealth that Cortes and Pizarro had found in 
Mexico and Peru. 

The Zuni of today is an ordinary pueblo, with a great 
seven-storied community house, after the general style of 
Taos. There are many interesting things about the people, 
and a score of fascinating places to visit, but I have space 
left in this chapter only to record an attempt made to kill a 
witch, which I had the pleasure of helping frustrate. All 
the Pueblo Indians are believers in witchcraft, and many an 
unhappy victim has lost his or her life because someone 
made an accusation of witchcraft which it was impossible 
to refute. Many times I have been present at trials of 
witches, and no outsider can possibly conceive the intense 
earnestness and the deadly fervor of the native medicine- 
men in their desire to rid their people of this awful, secret, 
and therefore terrible influence. The Zunis are in constant 
fear of being bewitched. Young mothers must protect their 
infants, the owners of fine beads and other adornments are 
constantly in fear lest some witch or wizard, influenced by 
jealousy, should strike them with disease. Suspicion is 
seldom absent, and even the lower animals are not always 



"SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA'' 143 

safe, for it is confidently believed that witches are able to 
assume their shape at will. 

One of the most noted personages of Zimi was Wewha. 
I knew her well. She was a person of great mental ability 
and w^as once taken across the continent and became for 
a while the guest of President Cleveland, in the White 
House. 

She w^as a man, who, for religious reasons connected with 
the peculiar beliefs of the Zunis, foreswore his manhood, 
dressed as a woman, lived as a woman, did all the household 
work of a woman, and in every way appeared to be one of 
the gentler sex. 

Wewha was the strongest character and the most intelli- 
gent Zuni I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and it 
was a great grief to me when I learned of her death. Not 
only did I feel this, but the chief medicine-men of the Zunis 
felt it was a great blow to the tribe, and at once sought to 
accuse someone of bewitching her and thus causing her 
death. A poor old woman named Melita w^as accused of the 
crime. Blindfolded, handcuffed, and gagged, she was taken 
to one of the underground kivas and there bade confess. 
She refused. She was then stripped naked and so severely 
beaten that her back was completely raw when I found her 
a few days later. The priests found her guilty and con- 
demned her to death. The general method of killing a 
witch is to tie the hands together behind the body and then 
hang the poor creature up by the thumbs. Melita was thus 
strung up until the blood oozed from eyes, ears, nose, and 
mouth, and the blood vessels of her cheeks burst with the 
fearful pressure. «, 

Just as she was in the final stages of her hanging, between 



144 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

life and death, my wagon was seen approaching the pueblo, 
and a messenger came rushing in to apprise Naiuchi — the 
chief priest — of that fact. He ordered the execution sus- 
pended until I was out of the way. But I had not been long 
in the village before one of the weeping friends of Melita 
succeeded in secretly reaching me with the news. For hours 
I sought the victim of the superstitious people's wrath, and 
when finally she was found it was with back, wrists, and 
cheeks fearfully wounded. 

Medical attention was secured for the poor old woman 
and she recovered, and the priests who assaulted her were 
arrested and kept in prison for several months. 

While one is at Zuni he should not fail to visit Thunder 
Mountain, see the figures that are said to be the sacrificial 
victims offered to appease the anger of the gods who had 
caused their valley to be flooded, and also the shrines on the 
summit of the mountain to certain of the Zuni gods. It was 
also on the cliff-faced precipice of this mountain, in a hidden 
shelter, that one might search for a lifetime in vain, that I 
found the shrine of Unaikah. their warrior god, a shrine 
that no white man had ever gazed upon before my fortunate 
discovery. These and other interesting experiences, espe- 
cially if one strikes the Zunis at the time of their ceremonial 
dances, or races, will make a trip to this historic spot one 
long to be remembered. 



CHAPTER XIII 

METEORITE MOUNTAIN AND SUNSET CRATER 

CANYON of the Devil does not sound polite in Eng- 
lish, but thousands of transcontinental tourists on 
the Santa Fe, who would not say it in English for worlds, 
mouth it quite complacently in its disguising and sonorous 
Spanish, Canyon Diablo. And a perfect devil of a canyon 
it is to those who have tried to cross it in a wagon, or even 
on horseback, or afoot — as I have many a time — before 
there were any roads in the country to speak of. Now, of 
course, bridges make it easy. It is a faint suggestion of the 
wonders of the greater gorge of the Grand Canyon, sixty- 
five miles to the north, and gives one a few delicious thrills 
as the train passes over its spider-legged, frail-looking, but 
scientifically constructed, steel-girdered bridge. 

But to the left, going west, is a peculiar mound-like 
mass, only ten miles away to the southeast from the station, 
and two hundred feet in height. Walk up the slope to 
its top and you find yourself on the rim of a vast natural 
bowl that is a mile wide and about six hundred feet deep. 
Its appearance suggests that it was once much deeper than 
it now is, and that it has been filled up with the earth, of 
which its forty-acre bottom is now well covered. 

At once you exclaim : An extinct volcanic crater. 
But if you use your eyes all around you will see that that 
cannot be, for there is not the slightest evidence of volcanoes. 

145 



146 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Long before the theory now accepted was propounded, 
I was assured it was not a volcano. 

How was it formed? 

Nobody knows, though scientists and wiseacres generally 
have spun theories, many and varied, about it. The best of 
these and the one generally accepted is that a meteorite, 
hurling itself through the sky from some far-away planet, 
and startling the night gazers on the Arizona deserts in some 
long- forgotten age with its brilliant trail of light, suddenly 
struck the earth at this spot, landed and remained there, 
possibly exploding as it fell, and throwing off some portions 
of its solid substance in a shower which scattered in every 
direction. 

At Canyon Diablo one can well see and study the various 
rocky layers of which this plateau is formed. On top there 
is a covering of red sandstone, which is much worn in places 
by the carving and eroding processes of nature. Below this 
is a layer, three hundred feet thick, of limestone, and then 
comes a layer of white sandstone, five hundred feet thick. 

But in the " crater " of Meteorite Mountain these strata 
are all tipped and twisted, distorted, and smashed in every 
direction. As Dr. J. A. Munk carefully describes it: 

The displaced strata of rocks in the hole are tilted and stand 
outwards and great boulders of red sandstone and limestone 
lay scattered all about. If the hole had been made by an ex- 
plosion from below large pieces of rock from each of the dif- 
ferent rock strata would have been thrown out ; but, while as 
first stated, there are plenty of huge blocks of red sandstone 
and limestone, there are no large pieces of white sandstone. 
After the superficial layers of rock had been broken up and 
expelled en masse, the deeper rock of white sandstone, being 
more confined, could not reach the surface in the shape of 
boulders, but had first to be broken up and ground to powder 




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METEORITE MOUNTAIN. ARIZONA 

INSIDE VIEW 




Photo hy author 

MESA OVERLOOKING LAVA FIELDS 

CEBOLLITA, ARIZONA 



METEORITE MOUNTAIN 147 

before it could escape. Then the white sandstone, in the 
form of fine sand, was blown skywards by the collision and 
afterwards settled down upon the mountain. It is covered 
with this white sand, which could have come only out of the 
big hole, as there is no other white sand or sandstone found 
anywhere else upon the entire plain.* 

An Indian trader living at Canyon Diablo, working out 
the theory for himself, decided that the crater was formed 
by a meteorite and he began to look around for pieces of the 
heavenly visitant. In a year or two he had gathered about 
ten tons of meteorites, varying in size from the fraction of 
an ounce to one thousand pounds and more. As this was 
worth in the neighborhood of a dollar a pound, this field of 
Nature's sownng was more profitable to him than skinning 
Navahos, Hopis, or the chance tourists that came along. 
The smaller pieces were found on or near the rim, and they 
increased in size in proportion as they were distant from 
the crater, until on a circle eight miles out, the largest piece 
was found. The largest number were found on the east side. 

Many tests have been made by scientists in their endeavors 
to account for the peculiar configuration of the mountain. 
Professor Gilbert, of the United States Geological Survey, 
finally decided to try the magnetic test. He assumed that 
if such a meteorite w^as embedded in the crater it would 
surely reveal itself by magnetic attraction. But although 
the finest modern appliances were used, and a variety of 
experiments undertaken, the results were all negative. 

The trader found that the meteorites he had picked up 
were non-magnetic, hence he reasoned that that fact did not 
dispose of the idea that there might be a vast mass of the 

* Arizona Sketches, by J. A. Munk, M. D., p. 154. The Grafton Press, 
New York. 



148 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

meteor still in the crater which no magnetic test would 
reveal. In continuing his experiments this unlettered man 
discovered that all around the mountain small pieces of iron 
were scattered, looking somewhat like the scales that fall 
from iron while being pounded, when red hot, upon the 
anvil. These he called " iron shale," and contended that 
they were dead scales which fell from the meteor, caused by 
the friction of the atmosphere, ere it struck the earth. In 
his various tests he was greatly surprised to find that these 
iron scales were not only highly magnetic, but possessed 
polarity in a marked degree. Here was a curiosity ; indeed 
an anomaly, to find that these scales had strong magnetic 
polarity, a property of electricity that is as mysterious and 
wonderful as electricity itself. 

Now let Dr. Munk tell of further wonders: 

Another peculiarity of the Canyon Diablo meteorite is that 
it contains diamonds. When the meteorite was first discovered 
by a Mexican sheep-herder he supposed he had found a large 
piece of silver, because of its great weight and lustre, but he 
was soon informed of his mistake. Not long afterward a 
white prospector, who heard of the discovery, undertook to 
use it to his own advantage, by claiming that he had found a 
mine of pure iron, which he offered for sale. In an attempt 
to dispose of the property samples of the ore were sent east 
for investigation. Some of the stone fell into the hands of 
Dr. Foote (the eminent geologist of Philadelphia), who pro- 
nounced it to be a meteorite and of celestial origin.* 

Sir William Crookes, F.R.S., tells the story of Dr. 
Foote's discovery of the diamonds : 

An ardent mineralogist, the late Dr. Foote, in cutting a sec- 
tion of this meteorite, found the tools were injured by some- 

* Arizona Sketches. 



METEORITE MOUNTAIN 149 

thing vastly harder than metalhc iron, and an emery wheel 
used in grinding the iron had been ruined. He examined the 
specimen chemically, and soon after announced to the scientific 
world that the Canyon Diablo meteorite contained black and 
transparent diamonds. This startling discovery was after- 
ward verified by Professors Friedel and Moissan, who found 
that the Canyon Diablo meteorite contained the three varieties 
of carbon — diamond (transparent and black), graphite, and 
amorphous carbon. Since this revelation the search for dia- 
monds in meteorites has occupied the attention of chemists all 
over the world.* 

Another interesting phenomenon to be seen on the main 
line of the Santa Fe, a few miles east of Flagstaff, is Sunset 
Peak. This whole region is one closely allied in its evi- 
dences of volcanic activity to the San Mateo region still 
further east, and which is described in Chapter xii. There 
are many extinct volcanoes, and miles and miles of lava. 
Sunset Peak is the most interesting, though not the largest 
of these craters. 

It matters not what hour of the day you gaze upon it, or 
how cloudy the weather, this peak is always flooded — 
apparently — with sunshine. There have been many ex- 
planations given of this, but a careful study and a number 
of visits to Sunset Peak have satisfied me that there is but 
one rational explanation, and that is as follows : The rock 
covering the upper portion is composed largely of iron, 
which, decomposed and rusted, gives a peculiar glowing red, 
and this, seen through the clear Arizona atmosphere, even 
on cloudy days, suggests the appearance of sunset. 

* Arizona Sketches. 



CHAPTER XIV 

OVER THE APACHE TRAIL TO THE ROOSEVELT 

DAM 

THERE are certain first impressions that remain for a 
lifetime. An inlander's first glimpse of the ocean; 
a torrid zone native's first experience of a snowstorm; a 
traveler's first glimpse of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Mos- 
cow, Rome, London, or New York ; a ride in a dirigible or 
aeroplane, these all belong to that category. In the same 
class, practically, I place my ride over the Arizona Moun- 
tains from Globe to Phoenix via the Roosevelt Dam. Phoe- 
nix is the capital city of Arizona, in the heart of the 
growingly fertile acres of the Salt River Valley; Globe is a 
mining and cattle-raising city high up in the widened-out 
canyon folds of the foothills of the Pinal Range. Midway 
between the two, rudely speaking, stands the Roosevelt Dam, 
and the vast lake it has backed up — a body of water that 
looks singularly at home in the bottom of what might well 
once have been the bed of a mountain-surrounded inland sea. 
The distance is 1 18 miles. We made it in eight and a half 
hours, in February, 191 5, a week after Arizona had experi- 
enced one of her ten-year-intervaled fierce rainstorms, and, 
therefore, the roads were not in the best of condition. 
Wesley A. Hill, of Phoenix, conceived the idea that many 
travelers, even residents of Globe and Phoenix, as well as 
visitors from the great outside world of travel, would enjoy 

150 




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ROOSEVELT DAM 151 

a safe and rapid automobile ride over this route, so, when 
the road was completed from Roosevelt to Globe, he put on 
a line of seven-seated cars and began to carry passengers. 
No indifferent or careless chauffeur can take the wheel for 
such a trip; nor can he be a weakling or a coward. It 
requires vigilance almost every minute, strength to pilot a 
car up and down the grades, and courage and knowledge to 
take the curves at a safe margin without making the trip too 
tedious. 

Four names kept ringing the changes in my mind as we 
rode along — five of us besides the chauffeur, a jolly, rugged 
athlete, named Jimmy. These were Dante, Milton, Poe, and 
Dore. A Ruskin, even a Mark Twain, could not have done 
justice to the scenes. Only the master-intellects of the cen- 
turies in imaginative, creative power could place before the 
world the wonder, the wild, weird marvel of it all, the 
sublimity, the majesty, the vast expanse. There were prac- 
tically only three great " divides " made on the trip, the first 
reached, after riding seventeen miles from Globe, when the 
sweep of the prehistoric lake site now occupied by the 
dammed-up waters of the Tonto and the Salt was spread 
out before us; the second, after ascending the Fish Creek 
hill, about sixty miles from Roosevelt, or the same distance 
east of Phoenix; and the third as we topped the crest of a 
ridge sweeping north from the Superstition Range towards 
Salt River, when the expansive view of the Salt River 
Valley was laid, panorama-like, before our enraptured 
vision. 

Dante could have pictured images to make clear the in- 
choate and vague suggestions of the mind; images that one 
felt were there, that began to form, but were immediately 



152 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

dispelled by others equally vague and impalpable, and that 
never came into actual sight. Milton, in strong, sonorous 
verse might, perhaps, have been able to make verbal descrip- 
tion of the stupendous vastness of the scenes, and the 
sublime emotions they aroused in one's soul. Poe might 
have evoked weird word pictures of some of the rocks and 
tree forms that accompanied us on most of the trip, and 
Dore alone, perhaps, of all artists, could have given the 
finishing touch by suggesting how these wonderful scenes 
came into existence. 

Could any of these masters in their respective spheres 
have seen what we saw, that any traveler now may see as 
easily as he may ride from one city to another, he would 
have added ten-fold to his potentialities as an artist, and 
incalculable-fold to the expansion of his capacities toward 
completer expression. 

Hence, how absurd for me to attempt any description of 
this unique, this sublime, this memorable trip. I shall make 
no attempt. All I propose to do is to give the reader a 
suggestion of some of the meager and inadequate thoughts 
that did struggle to the surface, and that may induce him to 
want to take this ride for his own inspiration and delectation. 

It is an inspiring sight to stand in one of the active 
mining camps of California. There are so many dead 
camps that where they are alive the sensation is decidedly 
pleasing. And Globe and Miami are both active, employing 
hundreds of men, turning out thousands of tons of ore, and 
a correspondingly large amount of bullion. 

When we reach the summit of the ridge which leads us 
down to the Roosevelt Reservoir all mining activity is left 
behind. A new and strange world at once lies before us. 





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Phoio by J. C.McCuUoch 

ON THE ROAD TO ROOSEVELT DAM 




ARIZONA DESERT NEAR PHOENIX 







NEAR FISH CREEK HILL 




BETWEEN PHOENIX AND ROOSEVELT DAM 



ROOSEVELT DAM 153 

Did you ever try to conceive how the bottom of the ocean 
would appear if the water were suddenly to recede and it 
became dry land? Here you have it exactly. And it does 
not require much stretch of the imagination to conceive that 
the weird cactuses, ocatillas, saguaros, yuccas, and other 
strange growths of the desert are the remnants of the sub- 
merged forests of the sea-bed of millions of ages agone, 
and one almost expects to see dinosauruses, ichthyosauruses, 
and other monster reptiles moving about in their shade, or 
to see the gigantic plesiosauruses and pterodactyls that used 
to paddle in or fly over the waters, or the mammoths, 
megatheriums, and mastodons that were wont to come and 
drink of, and bathe in, its cooling flood. How Dore would 
have reveled in this place ! Possibly his Deluge pictures 
would have been far more wonderful had he had anything 
like this before him to stimulate his vivid imagination. 

These ideas sprang into being as we swooped down, 
down, down from the ridge, mile after mile, towards the 
great reservoir. Those who have seen an accomplished 
aeroplanist, like Art Smith, alight after one of his sensa- 
tional flights, when, like an eagle, he drops from an eleva- 
tion of i,ooo feet or more to the grassy lawn from which he 
started, will understand what I mean by " swooped." 
Though we were on wheels, and bumped somewhat on the 
rough portions of the road, it was as near to an aeroplane's 
flight as a non-flying machine could make. And as far as 
manipulation of the motor was concerned, I think the mani- 
festation of coolness, skill, and practical knowledge is in 
favor of our chauffeur. Sharp curves, down grades, sudden 
steep up-grades, precipices to the right of us, precipices to 
the left of us, streams to ford, some shallow and rocky. 



154 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

others deep and quick-sandy — it required prompt, skilful, 
and expert handling. 

At first before us and then to our right spread out the 
great lake formed by the inflowing and retained waters of 
the Salt and Tonto Rivers. A lake — an inland sea — yet 
only a small remnant of what once undoubtedly existed here. 
Man, in erecting the Roosevelt Dam, has simply replaced 
some of Nature's own masonry, which, after erecting, and 
using, doubtless, for countless centuries to hold in the accu- 
mulating waters of this vast inland lake, she demolished, in 
order to transact other operations elsewhere with the waters 
she no longer desired to keep imprisoned within these walls. 

For thirty miles or so we rode along near to this vast 
reservoir, one of the greatest artificial lakes in the world, 
with a capacity ten times greater than that of the Croton 
Reservoir which supplies New York City with water, and 
far more than that retained by the Assouan Dam in the 
Upper Nile. Indeed, there is water enough stored here to 
cover the whole state of Delaware a foot deep, or to fill a 
canal three hundred feet wide and nineteen feet deep, ex- 
tending from San Francisco to Chicago. 

Passing by the little town of Roosevelt, we soon approach 
the dam. A fine roadway tops it, over which we cross and 
recross. It widens from the bottom up to conform to the 
width of the canyon, or gorge, which it dams. At the bot- 
tom it is 235 feet from left to right, while at the top it is 
680 feet. Measured up and down stream, at the bottom it 
is 168 feet, and it extends 284 feet upwards above the 
lowest foundations. Its solid contents are 329,400 cubic 
yards. Its shape is an arch, with the curve made to resist 
the pressure of the water on the reservoir side, and for 220 



ROOSEVELT DAM 155 

feet its masonry is exposed to the water. The watershed 
that supplies the water of the reservoir is about 6,260 square 
miles in extent, and in 191 5, for the first time, it was full to 
overflowing. Great rejoicings were held at this time, as for 
quite a lengthened period it insured water for the irrigation 
of the hundreds of thousands of acres dependent upon it. 

From now on our road is a rocky shelf, cut out of the 
wild mountain side — the gorge down which the Salt River 
used to flow and dash and roar, in unrestrained turbulence. 
Now, however, only the overflow is allowed to run, and 
whatever amount is needed for immediate irrigation day by 
day. This road was constructed by the United States Recla- 
mation Service in order to render access possible to the dam 
while it was in process of erection. The main work upon 
it was done by Apache Indians, who proved to be the most 
reliable workers the officials could secure in Arizona. After 
a long stretch of descent, it began an irregular and typical 
mountain course, now up, now down, winding and twisting 
wherever the engineers could best find good grade and 
course. All around us were objects of interest engaging 
our attention until we reach Fish Creek, where a real, rude, 
rough-and-ready, old-fashioned, pioneer-station meal was 
served. From now on for a few miles the road is a con- 
stant thriller. For a mile or so it seems to lead us into a 
"blind canyon" — one without any outlet. Narrower and 
narrower it grows, until we make a swing to the right and 
fairly climb up a shelf, cut out of the solid granite wall, 
which seemed as if it would hem us in. 

This is a real climb. Though well engineered, carefully 
graded, and well constructed, it is a good test of motor, 
chauffeur, and the nerves of passengers. At the summit, off 



156 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

we go again, with iips and downs, that in places remind us 
of the sweeping down of the sea guh, or a mechanical ren- 
dition on a sloping road of the eagle's descent in flight. 
Gigantic and towering rocks are to our right, sand-carved 
and storm-weathered, until they are demon forms for Dore 
to picture, and then we come to our last summit, near the 
Superstition Mountains, where we get our last great, won- 
derful, all-embracing valley view. Here is the Salt River 
Valley lying at our feet. 

It is like an epoch-forming period in a man's life. Behind 
him is the great wild waste, then the restraining dam that 
holds back the vivifying and renewing water, and now he is 
on the crest, before sailing forth into life again. All its 
opportunities, its possibilities, its potentialities, are typified 
in the glorious valley ahead. Not yet developed, awaiting 
the quickening touch of man's hand, the vivifying influences 
of man's work, genius, and love, it will spring forth into 
fertility, abundance, and the happiness that come with work 
well done. Of course, there is enough of development 
actually accomplished to demonstrate what may and will be 
done in the next twenty years. 

On we go through Mesa, Tempe, past the State Normal 
School, through the Cactus Park, recently set aside by the 
state and the city of Phoenix as a place where the native 
growths will be preserved forever, into Phoenix, the heart 
of the Garden of Allah — once a desolate, barren, heat- 
stricken waste, now one of the gardens of the world. 

It is hard to realize that this region and all the adjacent 
country is the land of the Apaches. Here they once roamed 
in fearless freedom, the lords of the land and monarchs of 
all they surveyed, for there were few who dared to molest 



ROOSEVELT DAM 157 

or make them afraid. For centuries they had been regarded- 
by their fellow aborigines as the most fierce and warlike, 
the most independent, self-reliant, and self-assertive. The 
Spaniards and Mexicans could do but little with them, and 
the United States found them a hard problem when they 
took possession of the land. 

I have not the space here to tell of the exploits of these 
warlike people. Their full history will never be written. 
Suffice it to say that they fully understood the real art of 
war; the power to kill without being killed, the strategy 
that forever dogs the steps of the enemy, gives him no rest, 
falls upon him unexpectedly, and escapes without injury 
after dealing deadly blows. Who can forget — whoever 
knew the facts — that Geronimo, the last great Apache chief, 
with thirty-three full-grown men, eight boys, and ninety-two 
women and children, went on the warpath, and in less than 
a year had killed between three and four hundred people 
in the United States and Mexico, and, as Charles F. Lummis 
puts it : 

Despite the untiring pursuit of the most experienced and 
most successful Indian-fighter our army has ever had, they lost 
but two of their own number, killed. A dozen of their women 
and children were captured after a campaign whose activity 
and hardships no civilized war could parallel ; and a mixed 
three-score at last came in, of their own free will, to rest from 
their travels. After that, for six months, the remaining twenty 
warriors, hampered by fourteen women, bafiled the fairly 
frantic pursuit of two thousand soldiers, pushed by an able 
general, not to mention several thousand Mexican soldiers. 
They killed something less than a hundred people, kept Sonora, 
Chihuahua, Arizona, and New Mexico on the tip-toe of terror, 
and never lost a man ! * 

* The Land of Poco Tiempo, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE CANYON OF CATARACTS , AND THE HAVASU- 
PAI INDIANS 

IN all ages men have sought out strange and peculiar loca- 
tions for their dwelling places. In the accompanying 
pages many of these are described in all their quaintness, 
picturesqueness, novelty, and pathos. But it is to be 
doubted whether any home ever found by men in any 
period of the world's history is so wonderful, grand, 
strange, and picturesque as that of the Havasupai Indians in 
the Cataract Canyon. 

Several travelers and explorers have described this abori- 
ginal dwelling place — Garces, that indefatigable Franciscan 
friar, who, feeling the burden upon his heart of the souls 
of all the Indians he might reach, sought them out in order 
to give them, through the offices of Holy Mother Church, 
the inestimable blessing of immortal life; Lieutenant Ives, 
who in 1847 came into the region to his immense amaze- 
ment and bewilderment, and the physician of whose expe- 
dition had a startling and surprising adventure with the 
Indians ; General Crook, the Apache fighter and conqueror ; 
and Lieutenant F. H. Gushing, who, in three of the most 
interesting articles he ever wrote, in the Atlantic Monthly, 
told of his journey thither and experiences crossing the 
desert from Zuni. 

It is getting on towards thirty years ago since I first 

158 



THE HAVASUPAI INDIANS 159 

visited this canyon in the company of W. W. Bass, the noted 
Grand Canyon guide, and the impressions then received, 
often since renewed, are ahnost as vivid and fresh as when 
gained. For this is no every-day trip that one may take and 
class with others of like nature It is as strange, as unique, 
as purely individualistic as are one's experiences at the 
Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, Crater Lake, the 
Yosemite, or the Yellowstone. 

There are three known trails into these hidden and mys- 
terious depths — the Wallapai, Zuni, and Topocobya trails. 
Each is more wonderful, awe-inspiring, and fascinatingly 
thrilling than the others. In spite of the apparent "bull" 
in this statement it is perfectly true in this sense, namely, 
that whichever trail you last take it is the one that most 
impresses you, no matter how often you descend, and how 
much you vary the order in which you descend. 

My first trip was down the Topocobya trail. A topocobya 
is the half -moon curve described by the sweep of the opened 
thumb and finger, and most graphically suggests the shape 
of the colossal rocky walls on which the trail is built, en- 
engineered, and pecked, and down which one descends at one 
fell swoop for over a thousand feet. It is a hair-raising 
spot to look at, and in those early days, when none but 
moccasined Indians and wild goats, and an occasional 
adventurous or Indian-bedeviled burro clambered up or 
down, and no real attempt had ever been made to render it 
more than a scrambling place, it was almost as risky as 
putting a hempen noose around one's neck, securely fas- 
tening it to a strong bough, and then jumping from an ele- 
vated position, just to see how it feels to dangle without 
the ability to touch bottom. 



160 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

The Indians were our guides, and they brought their own 
ponies and burros for our conveyance from the foot of the 
trail, down the long, winding, rocky canyon stream-bed 
which, mile after mile, went deeper and deeper, cutting 
through stratum after stratum, some of the walls as regular 
as if laid by gigantic masons, others crowned with figures as 
wild, rugged, and fantastic as if demons and fiends, fallen 
angels and fallen men had sought to construct Gargantuan 
gargoyles of all the Quilps, Quasimodos, and other hideous 
and repulsive figures of fiction. 

At last, at a depth of nearly 5,000 feet below the ele- 
vated plateau from which we had descended, the village of 
the Indians was reached. Our journey all the way down 
had been practically waterless, save for a few fugitive 
bucket fuls, conserved by nature-made rock reservoirs in 
shady places. Suddenly the murmur, rush, splash, and gur- 
gle of running, flowing, dashing water was heard, and on 
one side of the narrow canyon, under immense patriarchal 
Cottonwood trees, a thousand springs burst forth, sparkling 
and free, from their imprisonment beneath the rocky strata. 
Rushing together, as though with set purpose and pre- 
arranged accord, they united and formed quite a sizable 
stream, which immediately headed away down the canyon, 
lined on either side with a dense jungle of willows, ten, 
fifty, a hundred yards wide, and the green of which con- 
trasted joyously with the vivid reds and dark chocolates of 
the sandstone walls. Never more than half a mile wide, and 
narrowing and widening again in irregular fashion, the 
walls, sheer precipices upwards of two thousand feet high, 
rising then on sloping taluses to walls further back, another 
thousand or more high, and these back to others still higher, 




Photo by George Wharton James 

iMOONEY FALLS, HAVASU CANYON 



THE HAVASUPAI INDIANS 161 

what a site for human beings to have selected as their chosen 
dwelHng place ! Yet here from time immemorial have lived 
the Havasupai — pai, people, of the haJia, water, vasu, blue 

— the people of the blue water; or, as Gushing poetically 
termed them, "the Nation of the Willows." Two to three 
hundred in number, seldom going over the larger number, 
and generally keeping nearer to the smaller, living in their 
brush shelters, or hazvas, cultivating corn, melons, onions, 
beans, peaches, and making a rude fibrous bread from the 
mescal (the Agave Americana) , eating acorns, grass seeds, 
pinion nuts, the fruit of the yucca baccata, and roots, rab- 
bits, deer, and other game when they were fortunate in 
their hunts, keeping themselves largely to themselves, 
friendly with some outside tribes and trading with Navahos, 
Hopis, Wallapais, and Paiutis, but hating and dreading 
Mohaves, Utes, and Apaches, they had remained here almost 
secluded and unknown for centuries. 

Since that first experience I have visited them many 
times; shared their simple hospitality; watched them in 
their religious dances; engaged with them in their cere- 
monial "sweat-bath" — as fine a Russo-Turkish bath as 
I ever enjoyed — studied their primitive cosmogony; and 
collected some of their many fascinating myths, legends, 
and folk lore. 

A quarter of a mile or so below the last hawa of the 
village is a waterfall, caused by the dashing of the Havasii 

— blue water — over a sudden drop in the canyon's floor. 
A short distance beyond is another fall, wild, rugged, pic- 
turesque, where the stream is broken up into irregular 
masses and flows and falls a hundred feet through a 
tangled mass of bushes, vines, and towering cottonwood 



162 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

trees. A mile further and one reaches the most exqui- 
sitely beautiful, gloriously alluring waterfall my eyes have 
ever seen. 

Those who have seen Mossbrae Falls, near Shasta 
Springs, on the Sacramento River, coming down from 
Portland, Oregon, on the Shasta route of the Southern 
Pacific, can form a conception as to its supernal beauty. 
For it is Mossbrae enlarged many times and put into a more 
sublime environment. Instead of one column of water 
there are three hundred, four, five hundred, varying accord- 
ing to the extent of the stream's flow, and no one column 
exactly like any other. 

At the precipice's edge, where the lip of the fall should 
be, the water is spread out over a rough and rugged table, 
bestrewn with trees, shrubs, vines, and the fantastic forms 
of limestone accretions that have accumulated here during 
the centuries. The water is heavily charged with lime and 
silica, which coat everything it touches and thus produce 
" petrifications," so-called, of a thousand and one shapes and 
sizes. In the region of this waterfall this process has been 
unusually active, for the whole width of the canyon, i,ooo 
feet or more, and for a distance of more than half a mile, 
is literally full of them, cemented together by the material 
that made them, and mixed up into a chaotic mass with the 
sand and silt that have washed down at flood times. 

The fall is from 150 to 175 feet high and fully 500 feet 
wide. Though Mossbrae suggests it, there are marked dif- 
ferences that set it apart as a fall unique in the scenery of 
the world. The very rock behind it, over which it falls, 
seems to be a petrified waterfall of a dainty reddish-tinged 
sandstone. It has all the appearances of a waterfall and it 




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Photo /'V aii/Iior 



THE WALLAPAI TRAIL TO HAVASU CANYON 








Photo by J II ^' I 

PAGATOCOBA'S HAWA, HAVASU CANYON 



THE HAVASUPAI INDIANS 163 

certainly was formed by the waterfalls of the past. The 
moist heat of the canyon is so conducive to plant and tree 
growth that in every little crevice where earth has washed 
down and found lodgment a vine, a shrub, or a tree has 
sprung forth and grown with fervent exuberance. 

Then something has occurred to expose and wash out a 
portion of the roots from their hiding places, and they have 
trailed over the rocks or in the water. The lime-charged 
water has then gradually covered them with its hardening 
surface; the spray has dashed over the leaves and covered 
them, and limbs of trees, small sticks, etc., that have washed 
down and lodged have likewise become petrified, and then, 
over the lips of the fall, as the water has dashed down, these 
accumulations and accretions have formed umbrella-like 
protrusions from the face of the cliff, large, medium-sized, 
small, down to tiny baby ones, with trailing, lace-like edges 
— fairy lace that absolutely crumbles at a touch, or vanishes 
with a strong breath of wind. And these " umbrellas " are 
found at all elevations in the most picturesque, haphazard 
arrangement; yet the general effect is harmonious in the 
extreme. So there is the wonderful fall, the water foamy 
white, pouring down, through, over a hundred, five hundred 
small and large channels, a few of the larger masses dashing 
down in unbroken columns to the pool beneath, but the 
larger proportion falling only ten, twenty, fifty feet upon 
one of these rocky umbrellas, or aprons, and bounding off 
again in graceful curves in dashing spray and water dust, to 
mingle with the mist from other broken columns. Over all 
the water hang the admiring and protecting trees, while on 
each side and behind tower the sandstone and limestone 
cliffs, in terraces, a thousand, two thousand feet at a step, 



164 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

until they lead the eye to the peerless Arizona sky over- 
arching the whole glorious and soul-expanding scene. 

It is entrancing, enchanting, bewitching, and though I 
have gone back to it again and again, in the past twenty-five 
years, it never loses that first rich quality of fascination, and 
I sit by its side, at its foot, or on the far-away cliff, and 
watch its dainty beauty with as much pleasure and joy as 
when I first beheld it. The Indians call it IV a-ha-hath- peek- 
ha-ha, the Mother of Waterfalls — the Americans have 
given it their one rich, classic, time-honored, and brilliantly 
imaginative name. Bridal Veil Falls.* 

But there are two other great falls in this canyon that 
demand a visit. The next one is about a mile further down, 
and is called Mooney Falls, after a miner of the name who 
lost his life here in a most tragic manner. From two to 
three hundred feet in height, it leaps over the cliff in one 
glorious column of sparkling, sun-kissed, lacy water, that 
suggests designs innumerable for those who create the arti- 
ficial adornments of women's lingerie. 

None but those who really study waterfalls can know the 
rare charm and steady beauty they possess. Most people 
have the idea, and many writers confirm it, that when a 
stream tumbles over a cliff it is a wild, chaotic mass of 
water and spray. Never was there a greater mistake. 
Niagara is never more serene and calm than when its col- 
umns of water stand upright. And so with these Havasu 
Canyon falls. There is one divine outflow of energy when 
the water leaves the level and begins to fall. Then it 

*Just before going to press, my Grand Canyon friend (Mr. Bass), 
informed me that a fierce flood had completely destroyed (for the 
time being, at least) the charm of this inexpressibly beautiful water- 
fall. I hope, however, that a few years will see it restored. Nature 
originally built it, and she can do so again. 



THE HAVASUPAI INDIANS 165 

divides into numberless comet-like forms, the foamy head 
and nucleus of each one as clear as any individual star in 
the heavens, followed by their fan-like tails, combed out 
finer and finer towards the end, and disappearing in the 
general mist exactly as real comet-tails disappear in the 
atmosphere. 

The friction of the air in falling, combs and spreads out 
the water. Each of these comets holds its place and falls 
in as orderly, steady, and unconfused a manner as each 
soldier takes his place in regular drill. The eye can follow 
each one — though of course it must be done rapidly — as 
certainly and surely as it can follow a horse on a race-track. 
The comet is the general form in the upper part of the fall, 
but lower down these become so attenuated by air friction 
as to assume other misty but distinctive vapor-drapery 
forms, into which sunlight darts a thousand brilliant hues, 
air contributes a rare fineness, and the water becomes an 
entirely different thing from the solid though fluid sub- 
stance with which we are commonly familiar. 

The next fall is several miles farther down, and is known 
as Beaver Falls, because of the numbers of these active 
rodents that used to operate there. It is of the same style 
as Bridal Veil Falls, but less impressive in height and width. 

Still farther down the Havasu enters a narrow, almost 
millrace-like gorge, with sheer walls of thousands of feet, 
rising above its foam, and after a mad race in this confined 
space, shoots its clear, though limy, waters into the muddy, 
turbulent stream of the great Colorado, which speedily ab- 
sorbs them and carries them out to the far-away Gulf. 

This canyon has been made easily accessible to one used 
to horseback riding and camping out. W. W. Bass, Grand 



166 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Canyon, Arizona, will make arrangements for the conduct- 
ing of individuals or parties, or the same arrangements may 
be made at El Tovar, the Fred Harvey Hotel at Grand 
Canyon. The distance from this hotel is about fifty miles, 
thirty-five of which may be made by wagon, and the rest of 
the way on the trails by saddle animals. Necessarily it is a 
camping-out trip. 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE PETRIFIED FORESTS OF ARIZONA 

THE ordinary layman says petrified, the scientist, fossil. 
The dictionary defines a petrification as that which 
has been converted or made into stone; from f actus, past 
participle of facere, to make, and petra, rock. A fossil, on 
the other hand, is something dug out of the earth, or, spe- 
cifically, in late geological usage, anything that has been 
buried beneath the surface of the earth by natural causes or 
geological agencies, and which bears in its form or chemical 
composition the evidence that it is of organic origin. 

As I am a layman, and the prime thought in connection 
with the wood of this ancient forest is that it has been 
changed into stone, I shall continue to use in the future, as I 
have in the past, the name Petrified Forest. 

This, certainly, is one of the wonders of the world, for 
here are acres — scores, hundreds, thousands of them — 
dotted over, lined, seamed, and permeated with the logs of 
this vast forest of the past — fossilized, petrified, agatized, 
thousands of tons of them already exposed to the gaze of 
man, and doubtless many thousands more waiting for the 
slow processes of nature's exhumation. 

These petrified forests are closely adjacent to the main 
line of the Santa Fe Railway, and not far from the small 
station of Adamana. Adam Hanna was an oldtime pioneer 
of the region, who used to take tourists in the early day to 

167 



168 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

see the wonders near his ranch. His good wife, Maggie, 
who used to sing in the Methodist church choir of one of 
the smaller churches in St. Louis, Missouri, would cook for 
them and occasionally "fix up a bed"; so, when it was 
decided to put In a station at this point and the Santa Fe 
officials wanted a name, this English-ified rendering of 
Adam's two names was suggested and straightway adopted. 

It will be noticed I have used the word " forests." Pos- 
sibly it is all one forest, though it covers so large an area, 
but the uncovering process, so far as it has now gone, has 
revealed the petrifactions in three separate localities; and 
when John Muir came here a few years ago for the benefit 
of his ailing daughter, he rediscovered another petrified 
wood area, that the inhabitants of the region knew nothing 
of, though it was fully described in Wheeler's Survey, many 
years before, and I had visited it and secured a good sized 
log of its wood, which for years has stood on my lawn 
walk in Pasadena. 

The Petrified Forest area is over ten miles sc|uare, cov- 
ered with fallen trees, generally broken into somewhat irreg- 
ular lengths, scattered in all conceivable positions and in 
fragments of all sizes, the sections varying from two to 
twenty feet long. 

It is about twenty miles from Holbrook, Apache County, 
Arizona, and is naturally subdivided into three parts, com- 
monly known as the " Petrified Forest," " Chalcedony Park," 
and " Lithodendron [stone trees] Valley." The latter sec- 
tion is nearest to the little hotel at Adamana. The drive 
from this side-station is about five miles, part of it being 
over a sort of plain with rugged cliffs to be seen in the 
distance, and the Lithodendron Valley is between two of 




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THE TETRIFIED FOREST, ARIZONA 




THE PETRH'lEU FOREST, ARIZONA 



PETRIFIED FORESTS OF ARIZONA 169 

these bluffs. There are all kinds of freaks of erosion in 
the peculiar colored soil of which these bluffs are made, one 
of them looking much like an eagle with outspread wings. 
Upon reaching the region of the petrified trees it is easy to 
believe that there are literally hundreds of thousands of 
specimens scattered on each side of the valley and up and 
down the slopes. 

Some of the fossil trees are quite well preserved. The 
exposed part of some of them measures from one hundred 
and fifty to two hundred feet in length and from two to 
four and a half feet in diameter, the roots sometimes being 
fully exposed and the diameter of these portions most 
surprising. 

The colors are beautiful and exquisite in the extreme. 
The state of mineralization in which much of the wood 
exists almost places certain pieces in the class of semi- 
precious stones. Not only are chalcedony and agates found 
among them, but many approach the condition of jasper and 
onyx. 

On the further side of one of the slopes is the interesting 
Petrified Bridge. This consists of a large petrified tree 
trunk lying across a canyon and forming a natural foot- 
bridge on which men may cross. This bridge is on the 
northeast side of one of the mesas near its rim. The trunk 
is in an excellent state of preservation, and is complete to 
the base, where it is partially covered, though it shows 
clearly the manner in which the roots were attached while 
the tree was growing. The total length of the tree that is 
exposed is one hundred and eleven feet, more than sixty 
feet of the upper part of the tree resting upon the left bank 
of the canyon. Its diameter at the base is about four feet, 



170 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

and at the upper end is reduced to about eighteen inches. 
At about the middle of the canyon the tree measures ten feet 
in circumference. Most of the trees are split across in sec- 
tions or blocks, and there are four of these transverse cracks 
in the " bridge." 

It is estimated by scientists that these trees grew many 
millions of years ago, in the dim ages when the earth was 
in the process of making, and earthquakes, uplifts, and sub- 
sidences of the surface of the earth were common. In 
some convulsion of nature, possibly a great tornado or 
flood, the whole forest area where these trees grew must 
have been flooded to such an extent, and for so long a period 
of time, that the roots of the trees rotted and allowed them 
to fall, or perhaps the flood was so tremendous in force that 
it washed away the earth and floated away the trees from 
the place where they grew to this region where we now 
find them. 

The most careful searching has failed to find few, if 
any, branches of the trees, and but very few of the cones 
that they used to bear, therefore it is assumed that these 
were broken off by the turbulent movements of the flood and 
carried away on the surface of the swirling waters. The 
trees being lodged in a place where they could not escape, 
indications point to the fact that they were submerged in 
water for many, many centuries. The land surrounding the 
area of submergence undoubtedly contained many minerals, 
and as these were exposed to the atmosphere and disinte- 
grated and rusted, they colored the water in which the trees 
were lying. It is well known that iron rust is a deep red; 
copper gives brilliant yellows and purples, while other min- 
erals give equally vivid and beautiful colors. Combined 



PETRIFIED FORESTS OF ARIZONA 171 

with the color-giving minerals was a good deal of silica or 
lime, also held in solution in the water. By the exercise of 
that wonderful law called capillary attraction, the wood fiber, 
as it decayed and washed away, left place for the brilliantly 
colored matter. As days, weeks, months, years, centuries 
passed the process of change from wood fiber to solid stone, 
beautifully colored, took place. 

In the meantime there were great volcanic disturbances in 
this region, and vast quantities of volcanic ash were cast out 
over the whole area until the trees were buried in it many 
feet deep. As more millions of years wore away the region 
sank into the primeval ocean and sandstones and limestones 
were washed over the sea bottom and deposited, until the 
forest was buried to a depth, some scientists say, of over 
twenty thousand feet. 

Then this period of subsidence was arrested and reversed, 
and the submerged area began to lift again out of the great 
inland sea. This must have been a time of great storms 
and atmospheric conflicts, for little by little the layers of 
sandstone and limestone were disintegrated and carried 
away, perhaps to form the sands of the Mohave and Colo- 
rado deserts. Finally, previous to our own historic age, 
this process of washing away the accumulated strata of the 
Petrified Forest region was arrested and the trees were left 
exposed as we now see them. 

The forest is now a national park and thus guarded from 
vandalism, but there are so many millions of fragments 
scattered about on every hand that no objection is made to 
visitors taking away small specimens. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE LURE OF THE ARIZONA DESERTS 

LITTLE by little the Arizona desert is coming into its 
jown. People are beginning to understand it, to love 
it, instead of fearing and hating it. It is no longer " the 
country that God forgot," but the thoughtful and discerning 
are seeing in it ''the Garden of Allah." Its wide expanses, 
eloquent silences, glorious colorings, purifying winds, stim- 
ulating sunshine, nights of calm allurement, content and 
soothing, its luminous stars, its radiant purity, its incom- 
prehensibility, mystery, and dominating power in most 
singular fashion take full possession of mind, soul, and 
body. 

Arizona, in its desert areas, is a land still in the making; 
the work is not yet done ; one can see the primitive processes 
in operation; the hand of the Divine is still upon the soil. 
And while in the summer months the temperature is high, 
there is yet an allurement about the desert climate that those 
who know it can never resist. The nights are so cool, 
refreshing, and pure, one feels that here, indeed, is the air 
the angels breathe; its purity is to be felt, a definite, dis- 
tinct, positive reality that thrills with its potency. Then the 
coloring of the desert enchants the senses. Morning and 
night, sunrise and sunset, are alike gorgeous and brilliant. 
One never becomes blase to their panoramic splendors ; their 
startling surprises; every morning one arises and antici- 

172 



LURE OF THE ARIZONA DESERTS 173 

pates, waits, and gloats, eagerly drinking in the radiant glory 
of the Day King's triumphant approach; and at night, 
weary and tired, perhaps, after a day's hard labor, or 
exhausting journey, looks just as eagerly and delightedly 
upon the great orb's farewell pyrotechnics as it disappears 
behind the western mountains. 

But regardless of sunrise or sunset the desert country is 
a rioting wealth of color — the varying sands and clays of 
the valleys, the equally-mingled grays, reds, blues, greens, 
oranges, and lighter yellows of the mountains. Played upon 
by the heavenly searchlights, tinged with atmospheric color- 
ings produced by the very fountains of nature's electricity, 
they dazzle the eyes and thrill the senses as only those who 
have seen the gorgeous color displays of the San Francisco 
Exposition can begin to conceive. And yet the artificial 
displays by the Golden Gate are trivial and childlike com- 
pared with the thousand-square-mile areas illumined by 
God's own instruments in the Arizona deserts. 

Here is color supreme. Titian, Tintoretto, Reynolds, 
Velasquez, and all the masters, ancient and modern, would 
here have reveled and delighted in, and been intoxicated by, 
the vivid brilliancy, the divine abandonment of color-rich- 
ness so lavishly and extravagantly bestowed upon so gigantic 
a canvas. And the phantasmagoria is never quiescent, never 
still, never twenty seconds the same. Every moment sees 
some fresh effect beginning, continuing, or produced. All 
is alive — intensely, vividly, potently, yet silently and mys- 
teriously alive. Oh, that sense of desert aliveness, though 
silence, solitude, and sublimity reign supreme. The expanses 
are vast and almost awful in their immense reaches. The 
mountains stand as though they had been placed there when 



174 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

God laid the very foundations of the world, and in His 
presence they had been hushed into a silence they had never 
since dared to break. The sandy area, almost treeless, bush- 
less and flowerless, lies at the mountains' feet, feeling the 
solemn mystery over which only the faintest zephyrs dare 
to breathe. And yet over and in and through it all there 
is a sense of vivid, active, dominating, radiant power, alive 
to the very innerness of things, that captures and possesses 
the soul. What it is you cannot tell, and analysis gives 
neither elucidation nor clue to the mystery. Yet how won- 
derful it is to feel it, to know it, to live in it, and to absorb 
its marvelous and thrilling potency ! 

Then the entrancing and soul-satisfying calm of the 
desert ! Who can describe it ? Watch the crowds in any 
American city. How volatile, restless, mercurial, unsatis- 
fied, agitated they are. Ever moving, rising up, sitting 
down, peeping in, pushing on, discontented when in motion, 
unsatisfied to be at rest, played upon by every whim of 
fancy, with no settled purpose, as if moved by the fitful 
dreams and conjurations of fever in their blood, they typify 
eternal discontent, dissatisfaction, unrest. Even the more 
thoughtful and mentally alive find it impossible to resist 
this ever-present, agitating influence. Ministers, lawyers, 
doctors, judges, educators are almost equally in a state of 
agitation with the commoner masses of the people. Calm, 
repose, serenity are unknown. Rush, hurry, bustle, haste, 
activity, to the point of nervous exhaustion are exhibited 
everywhere. Doctor Blackgown's pulpit is vacant for three 
months, for his physician has sent him on an ocean voyage 
to quiet his nerves. Judge Bigwig is resting for two months 
at a sanitarium, and Professor Snozzlegozzle is recuperating 




Courtesy V J . logical Survey 

THE DESERT COUNTRY, ARIZONA 




Conrlcxy of U. S. Geological Siiy:'cy 

THE DESERT COUNTRY, ARIZONA 



LURE OF THE ARIZONA DESERTS 175 

in the mountains. The banker, tradesman, chemist, feel 
the same jumping-jack influence. Business is conducted on 
the hop, skip, and jump, as if we were all marionettes sus- 
pended from a wire and worked from below or above by a 
jerky string, and stability, equipoise, and serenity — how I 
revel in the thought behind that last sublime word — are 
almost unknown. 

But on the desert how different. Have you ever felt a 
sweetening influence flow into your' inmost soul from the 
presence of a good man or woman when you were angry to 
fierceness, mad enough to strike? Have you ever seen a 
fretful child, querulously wailing or spasmodically sobbing 
out of sheer physical irritability or exhaustion, placed on 
the shoulder of a loving, calm father, or the deep-lunged 
bosom of a restful, unperturbed mother, and watched the 
transforming miracle that bade the irritation disappear, the 
wailing cease, and sent the child into delicious, satisfying 
slumber ? 

That is what the desert does for its devotees. Its fierce 
day heat seems to purge the blood of its mercurial fever; to 
put the calming hand upon the heated brow, the restraining 
and soothing influence around the whole physical nature — 
heart, brain, nerves, blood vessels, skin, everything feels 
the sedative power. And, as if by magic, mind and soul 
also feel the inflowing of serenity, content, restfulness — the 
peace of God which passeth all understanding. It is as 
if the finite man here came into personal, intimate touch 
with the reservoirs of infinity, the stores of the Divine, the 
spiritual treasure-houses of the ages, the recuperating, reju- 
venating springs of everlasting youth. Well might the 
Arabs call the desert the Garden of Allah. They have 



176 OVR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

learned its secret. It is the land where " everlasting spring 
abides, and never withering flowers," but they do not believe 
that 

Death, like a narrow stream, divides 

This blessed land from ours. 

They enter into, take possession of, are taken possession 
of, by the serene influences that occupy the land and thus 
feel themselves in the chosen place of God. 

Then, too, there is something enlarging, ennobling, 
expanding to the mind and soul in the vastnesses of the 
desert. The Delectable Mountains yonder are fifty, seventy- 
five, a hundred miles away, and at one sweep the eye covers 
all the intervening space between; yonder peaks are nine, 
ten, eleven thousand feet high in the crystal blue of the 
Arizona sky; yonder "devil's whirligig," a sand-spiral on 
the desert, is twenty-five miles away, and the little cloud of 
dust tells of a moving prairie-schooner fifteen miles ofif. 
Distance is annihilated, miles forgotten, in the pellucid 
atmosphere of this laboratory of pure air. Hence there 
comes a corresponding enlargement of mind and soul; one 
no longer feels any of the " cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd " 
influences of the cities. 

As one can move with a new sense of freedom, breathe 
in a larger fullness of air. rejoice in a greater expansion 
of lungs, a quickening of the oxygenating influences in the 
blood, and a stimulation of the brain cells, with a corre- 
sponding soothing of the nerves and increase of vigor in 
the muscles, so does he feel the enlargement of the lungs 
of the mind, the quickening influences upon the intellect, the 
stimulation of the soul, the expansion of the conceptions, 
the imagination, the powers that make the man superior to 



LURE OF THE ARIZONA DESERTS 111 

the brute; that bring out the qualities of the Divine over 
and above the human. 

It must be in the silence and solitude of the desert there 
are few things to distract the attention. One can focalize 
as nowhere else. As Joaquin Miller once expressed it : he 
went to live on the quiet mountain heights above the city of 
Oakland, away from the disturbing influences of men, the 
distraction, cares, pleasures, social allurements of men, in 
order that, in the silence and solitude, he might listen to the 
voice of God. In the city, the theater, the opera, the con- 
cert, the show, the vaudeville, the dansant, the revelry, the 
wine cup, the feast, "woman, wine, and song," allure, dis- 
tract, dissipate, destroy. But in the desert the voice of God 
is supreme, and the human seems to be attuned to listen- 
ing — a rapt, attent Saint Cecilia-like attitude — of readi- 
ness, willingness, gladness to hear the Voice Divine. 

The first thought, however, that takes full possession of 
man when he sees the desert in all its mysterious vastness 
for the first time is that life within its hoiindaries is dif- 
ficult, if not impossible. He cannot see any other animal 
life than the lizard, horned toad, snake, and ant. He notes 
the scarcity of plant life, the dearth of trees, the rarity 
of flowers. 

And whatever plant life there is, is armoured and pro- 
tected with fierce thorns and prickles, so that none can touch 
it with impunity, without hurt or injury. The fight for 
mere existence is strongly in evidence. Heat and drought 
say die; wild animals would make food of it and thus 
destroy it. But Nature seems to love sturdy resistance in 
the preservation of life. She endows these desert plants 
with heat-resisting cuticles, with moisture-seeking and 



178 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

moisture-gathering roots, that travel and grow long dis- 
tances; she clothes them with spines and thorns that cut 
and wound as the claws of the wildcat and tiger. Hence 
they live, grow and multiply, each after its kind, drinking 
in every drop of moisture that falls during the year; mar- 
velous examples of conservation of energy, and perfect 
utilization of every source of supply. 

Thus Nature becomes man's teacher. She offers a chal- 
lenge to the superior being. Can the lizard and horned toad, 
the greasewood and mesquite, the cactus and the yucca 
live where man can not? Are there any conditions of 
life — where anyihing can live — superior to man? If so, 
wherein lies man's dominion, his control, his vaunted 
superiority ? 

These wild denizens of the desert areas are not only a 
challenge, but also a means of instruction. They suggest in 
themselves the law of adaptation. Little by little our scien- 
tists are beginning to grasp the marvelous significance of 
this fact — that Nature adapts herself to circumstances 
and environment. The first cactuses that grew on the desert 
doubtless perished by thousands, but a few persisted. They 
had a tougher strain than their companions, and they 
resisted heat, drought, winter's frost, and the attacks of 
animals alike. They became wise, subtle, crafty in their 
self-preservation. 

This is no place to enter into a scientific explanation of 
the wonderful resources and adaptations of the various cac- 
tuses to the trying life of the desert. I merely wish to 
suggest the apparently unsurmountable diflficulties the plants 
actually overcome. Their brave struggles and successful 
achievements invest them with a rare and pathetic attrac- 



LURE OF THE ARIZONA DESERTS 179 

tion. One feels they are akin to man in their determined 
resistance to powers that combine to crush them out of 
existence. 

Rains come but seldom. A year's rainfall will vary from 
one or two inches to a maximum, rarely reached, of twenty 
inches. Heavy rains occur so seldom that they have an 
almost negligible effect upon the soil moisture, as it is evi- 
dent that only such rains can supply water enough to 
penetrate to any depth and afford any appreciable and 
reliable source of supply. The frequency of light rains is 
great, and these generally make up the larger part of the 
sum total of the year's rainfall. These may be compared 
to tantalizing tastes, exciting and stimulating the appetite 
to the extreme, suddenly withdrawn without the slightest 
real satisfaction of the longings they have aroused. 

Who does not know, in himself, the arousement of such 
expectations and their absorbing and anticipatory power, 
and, also, alas! the utter desolation of soul, depression of 
spirit, and weariness of body that come with disappoint- 
ment? If plants are in any way akin to man — and who 
would question that life makes all living things akin — what 
must be the continual experience of these desert species in 
their alternate hopes and despairs, their arousements of 
expectations that are seldom lifted to gratification and sat- 
isfaction? 

When these tantalizing rainfalls are considered in con- 
nection with the burning temperatures of the desert in the 
day time, alternated with the rapid night radiations, which 
pull the thermometer down with startling speed, the mere 
struggle for existence grows more and more wonderful, and 
success, when achieved, more remarkable. 



180 OUR J AI ERIC AN WONDERLANDS 

The aids to these successes of life persistence are won- 
derful in the extreme, and have been suggested by the 
studies of such students as Merriam, Coville, Thornber, 
McDougall, Spalding, and others of the Desert Botanical 
Laboratory at Tucson, Arizona. They deal with the influ- 
ences of altitude, the ability to store water, the breathing 
power of the plants, the habits of roots, the development 
of resistant powers against the salt and other adverse chem- 
ical elements in the soil, etc. 

Seeing the plants thus successful in maintaining life in 
the desert, man, boldly and fearlessly, has accepted its chal- 
lenge and begun to subjugate it. He has swept over the 
deserts of Arabia in search of trade, and his caravans have 
defied heat and drought, sandstorm, and sirocco and have 
shuttled back and forth according to his will. Here and 
there man has found springs on the desert, and inch by 
inch has wrested away from the Heat and Drought Demon 
his control, making date palms, cocoa palms, and tropical 
flowers grow in riotous profusion. 

In other places he has engineered vast canals of water 
upon the arid acres, miles, leagues, and has transformed 
the barren sands into fertile fields that are the wonder and 
amazement of the world. With the blind eyes of his boring 
tools he has penetrated a thousand, two thousand and more 
feet into the bowels of the earth, has found artesian foun- 
tains there which have shot up their refreshing and vivify- 
ing waters by the millions of gallons, hourly, to aid man 
in his miraculous work of destroying — reclaiming — the 
desert. 

And when man so triumphs, just so soon as he holds the 
upper hand, Nature bows down in reverent obedience. The 



LVRE OF THE ARIZONA DESERTS 181 

very heat is made tributary to man's power and subservient 
to his wishes. The greater the heat, the more wonderful 
the growths and the sweeter the crops. The grape, the 
pomelo, the canteloupe, the water-melon, the date, the beet, 
are each and all the sweeter, the richer, the more delicious 
for the fervid heat that is now man's servant instead of 
his master. There are no grapes like desert grapes; no 
pomelo so sweet and free from bitterness as the desert 
pomelo ; no melon so rich and luscious as the desert melon ; 
no date so abounding in exquisitely flavored sugar as the 
desert date. 

Nor does man long stand in awe of the heat as far as 
his own comfort and pleasure are concerned. He builds 
cunningly contrived houses that, with double roofs, porches, 
patios and arched colonnades, shut out the sun's rays. He 
cools the air with electric fans and bubbling fountains; he 
keeps his food in ice chests and concocts refreshing drinks 
of ambrosial quality. Then with his electric lights he turns 
night into day, according to his will, and works in the 
absence of the sun, and sleeps in cool content when day 
dawns. Oh, a daring, a defiant, genius is this pigmy man 
when once his interest, his will, his spirit, are aroused! 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE COLOSSAL NATURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH 

FOR a century or so the Natural Bridge of Virginia has 
been regarded as the most remarkable piece of Nature's 
engineering of this character within the boundaries of the 
United States. Yet here, as in some other departments, 
further knowledge of our vast domain has compelled a 
revision of our earlier conceptions. There are several nat- 
ural bridges in the west that far surpass in grandeur and 
wonder their more famous eastern counterpart, and yet it 
is only as recently as 1904 that the outside world knew 
anything of the remarkable bridges of southern Utah. Then, 
in the August Century Magazine, an article appeared which 
did much to awaken interest in these wonderful arches of 
Nature. 

It was not, however, until 1905 that anything was done 
in a systematic way to render them famous by accurate 
exploitation. In that year my good artistic friend, Harry 
L. A. Culmer, of Salt Lake City, was sent out by the Salt 
Lake Commercial Club for the purpose of securing photo- 
graphs, sketches, and paintings which accurately would rep- 
resent them. This expedition was supplemented in 1907 
by one under the auspices of the University of Utah, from 
whose report by Professor Byron Cummings some of the 
following quotations and accurate measurements are taken. 

These bridges were first seen by white men in 1883, yet 

182 



COLOSSAL NATURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH 183 

they have been here for centuries. The whole region is 
one in which I have ridden for days, thrilled and delighted 
with the marvelous sculpturings that Nature has here 
indulged in. The two most southeasterly counties of Utah 
are a vast principality in themselves, covering 1 1,784 square 
miles, or one-seventh of the entire state. The population 
is so small as to be less than many a country town in the 
East or Middle West. The greater part of the surface of 
these counties is a high plateau, 5,000 to 6,000 feet above 
sea-level, formed of rich red sandstone. From this plateau 
rise remnants of still another and higher plateau or mesa 
that in places cover large areas, but for the most part stand 
out as isolated cliffs. 

To quote Professor Cummings : 

All the softer portions have been washed down and used to 
help form the plains below, while the harder parts still remain, 
worn into mighty monuments, castles, domes, and spires that 
lift their heads far above the lower mesa upon which they 
stand. ... In comparison with this handiwork of time, the 
celebrated "Garden of the Gods" (in Colorado) pales into 
mediocrity.* 

So is it with the Natural Bridge of Virginia when com- 
pared with the colossal spans of this Utah wonderland. In 
1903, a good friend of mine, Horace J. Long, then a mining 
engineer, now a successful merchant of Mason, Nevada, 
was engaged in prospecting and placer-mining on the bars 
in the canyons of the Colorado River. The nearest post- 
office was at Hite, Utah, fifty miles away. In one of his 
wearisome rides for mail Mr. Long fell in with a cattleman, 
named Scorup, who, in the course of conversation, told him 

* The Great Natural Bridges of Utah, by Prof. Byron Cummings. 
Bulletin of University of Utah, Nov., 1910. 



184 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

of certain great " arches " which he had seen near the head 
of White Canyon. It took Mr. Long some time to get it 
into his head that by " arches " Scorup meant bridges, but 
when he did he decided to visit them. It was a long trip 
from Dandy Crossing, on the Colorado, occupying a large 
part of three days, and as they approached 

Scorup himself showed signs of nervousness, as if appre- 
hensive that his memory had magnified the size and grandeur 
of what he had seen eight years before, and had thus prepared 
a disappointment for them both. The canyon varied from 
perhaps three hundred to five hundred feet in width, and had 
many curves and abrupt changes of direction. The walls rose 
to a perpendicular height of about four hundred feet, and in 
many places far overhung their bases. The bottom was very 
rough and uneven, and at that season a considerable stream of 
water was flowing in a narrow channel, cut in most places to a 
considerable depth below the average level. 

Pushing their horses as rapidly as possible up the canyon, 
and eagerly making their way around the masses of debris, 
which in many places had fallen from the cliffs above, the 
travelers proceeded about a mile when they rounded a short 
curve in the canyon wall and had their first view of one of 
Scorup's arches. Extravagant indeed must have been their 
expectations to experience any disappointment at sight of the 
colossal natural bridge before them. Yet, from the scenic 
point of view, this bridge was the least satisfactory of the 
three which they visited. Its walls and buttresses are com- 
posed of pinkish sandstone, streaked here and there with green 
and orange-colored moss or lichens. But its outlines are quite 
irregular; the projecting walls of the canyon interrupt the 
view, and the tremendous mass of stone above the arch tends 
to dwarf the height and width of the span.* 

This was the bridge they named Caroline, or Carolyn, in 
honor of Scorup's wife, but the government officials have 
given it the Hopi name of "Kachina." It has a span of 

* The Century Magazine, August, 1904. 




Courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey 

NONNEZOSHIE NATURAL BRIDGE, UTAH 




Courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey 

EDWIN NATURAL BRIDGE, UTAH 




Coiiiiesy of U. S. Geological Survey 

AUGUSTA NATURAL BRIDGE, UTAH 



COLOSSAL NATURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH 185 

156 feet from side to side, and ninety-eight feet in the 
center, while the total height of the bridge is 205 feet, with 
a width on top of forty-nine feet. 

Sharp corners and broken lines here and there in the arch 
and buttresses show the unfinished work of the artisan. 
Nature has not yet given the final touches ; but wind and storm 
and driving sand will continue to chisel and polish until the 
lines are all graceful curves, adding greater beauty to the most 
massive of the bridges. Beneath its broad arch, a spring of 
cold water invites one to "bide a wee and dinna fret."* 

Two miles further up the main fork of the canyon is 
the Augusta, or Shipapu, Bridge. The first is the name 
given by Long, in honor of his wife, while the latter is the 
official designation. 

This span is 157 feet high and 261 feet long at the bottom. 
It is 222 feet from the creek bed to the top of the bridge, and 
the road bed is twenty-eight feet wide. It is the crowning 
glory of the three bridges. It combines massiveness with 
gracefulness of proportions that give an altogether pleasing and 
satisfying efifect. * * * Que climbs to the cliff above and 
watches the play of sunshine and shadow upon the warm col- 
oring of the rich reds and browns of the enduring sandstone 
that forms its arch and buttresses and comprehends the grace- 
fulness of its outlines and proportions as a whole, and he seems 
unable to tear himself away from the spell its might and beauty 
throw around him. f 

Some six miles from the Kachina Bridge, up in Arm- 
strong Canyon, about three miles above where it opens 
out into White Canyon, is what Long called " The Little 
Bridge," now officially entitled "Owachomo." 

It is a graceful structure, having a span of 194 feet and an 
elevation of 108 feet. This long arch of sandstone is only ten 

* The Great Natural Bridges of Utah, Bulletin of the University of 
Utah, Nov., 1910. t Ibid. 



186 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

feet thick in the center; and thus one sees how these propor- 
tions give an impression of Hghtness that is most pleasing to 
the eye. Near it are domes and turrets fashioned by the same 
powers that produced the bridge ; and nesthng in a cave worn 
in the sunny side of the cHff near one end are the deserted 
homes of a CHff-Dweller's village.* 

These were the three bridges disclosed by the Long expe- 
dition, but still another, grander and more majestic still, was 
discovered by the Utah Archaeological Expedition of 
August, 1909. This is known as the Nonnezoshie and is 
located northwest of Navaho Mountain, in the extreme 
southern part of Utah, near the Colorado River. 

President Taft, by proclamation May 13, 1910, set aside this 
arch with the land about it as " Rainbow Bridge National 
Monument." In appearance it is not so much a real bridge as 
the structures in White Canyon, because the top of the span 
is not level. It is a graceful arch of magnificent proportions, 
308 feet high and 274 feet long, that has been chiseled out of 
the cliff under conditions similar to those that have produced 
the White Canyon bridges. Here, however, the sandstone has 
been more yielding and the forces at work, perhaps, more con- 
stant, so that erosion has progressed much farther and left 
only a curving arm of the harder rock that still stretches grace- 
fully out across the canyon. 

This canyon, called by the Indians Nonnezoshieboko — Great 
Arch Canyon — is a gorge that takes its winding course from 
the slope of Navaho Mountain northwest into the Colorado 
River. Nonnezoshie spans this deep gulf from the cliff on one 
side to a bench on the other about six miles above the mouth 
of the canyon. In places below the arch, the cliffs that tower 
far above and form practically perpendicular walls on either 
side, draw so close together that there is barely room to pass 
through by wading the small stream in the narrow channel. 

During the high waters in the spring or after a heavy shower 

* The Great Natural Bridges of Utah, Bulletin of the University of 
Utah. 




INDIAN PICTURE WRITING 

NAVAHO RESERVATION 




INDIAN PICTURE WRITING 

SOUTHERN UTAH 





:4 



ROCK FORMATIONS. SOUTHERN UTAH 




ROCK FORMATIONS, NAVAFIO RESERVATION 



COLOSSAL NATURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH 187 

at any time of year it would be impossible to traverse this 
gorge. Good water is quite abundant in the immediate vicin- 
ity ; but grass is scarce and the region so rough that it has been 
little frequented even by Indians. The setting of wild scenery 
and interesting physiographic features, however, make it one 
of the most attractive spots on the globe. On the northern 
slope of Navaho Mountain are two other smaller arches, each 
of which would be attractive in itself, were it not overshadowed 
by the great arch of Nonnezoshie. * 

Professor Cummings thus explains the origin of these 
bridges : 

Ages ago the great sandstone beds overlying this entire 
region must have been pushed upwards by the internal forces 
of the earth until in the places of their greatest elevation the 
various strata separated, mountains were formed, and large 
cracks opened up that extended in zigzag lines away through 
the slopes of this vast tableland. This process of elevation 
was undoubtedly a gradual one; and, as the waters of the 
mountains sought a lower level, they took their courses through 
those irregular crevices, searching for the ocean which was then 
not far away. Their rushing currents and surging eddies wore 
off the sharp corners, sought out the soft places in the yielding 
sandstone, dug out deep caverns and recesses in the cliffs, and 
left behind them a series of graceful curves and fantastic 
forms that amaze and delight the traveler at every turn. As 
the formation was pushed upward from time to time, these 
rushing currents and surging estuaries kept on with their work 
of cutting, smoothing, and filling until they produced the deep 
box canyons so prevalent in this section, which sometimes 
widen out into small valleys of rich alluvial deposit, and again 
narrow down to mere slits between huge masses of cliffs. 

This elevation and opening of the formation often left a 
narrow section of the cliff extending out into the gorge for 
rods, around which the stream had to make its way as it rushed 
onward in its course. The constant surging of the waters 

* The Great Natural Bridges of Utah, Bulletin of the University of 
Utah. 



188 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

against this barrier revealed a soft place in the sandstone, where 
it gradually ate out a half dome-shaped cave. In a few in- 
stances as the water swirled around the other side of this bar- 
rier, they reached the corresponding soft place on the opposite 
side and ground out a similar half dome there. When, in the 
course of time, the backs of these two semi-circular caves came 
together, the waters found a shorter course through that open- 
ing, enlarged the archway and smoothed off and rounded into 
graceful curves the sides of its massive buttresses. Thus a 
bridge was formed and became a mighty span of enduring 
rock, whose foundations and graceful superstructure were laid 
by the ages.* 

Still another wonderful bridge has been found in this 
remarkable land of enchantment, and Professor Cum.mings 
thus tells of its discovery and appearance : 

In November, 1909, under the guidance of Dr. John Will- 
iams of Moab, we visited a natural bridge on the edge of Grand 
County that deserves to be classed with those of San Juan 
County among the great natural wonders of our continent. 
This is a graceful arch with a total elevation of sixty-two feet 
and a span of 122 feet long and forty-nine feet high. It stands 
beside the cliff on the western edge of Pritchett Valley ; and 
has been fashioned under somewhat different conditions from 
those prevailing during the construction of the natural bridges 
already described. Here there has been no narrow zigzag can- 
yon through which the waters surged in former times, but 
quite a large valley, some three miles long and from one-fourth 
to one-half a mile wide. On the sides of this irregular basin 
rise rugged cliffs that jut into the valley here and there in sharp 
points and rounded domes. The upper surfaces of these cliffs 
stretch back in bare undulating fields of sandstone, much 
eroded by wind and water. Caves have been hollowed out of 
these cliffs and various and numerous natural reservoirs are 
found scattered on the surface of these bare rocks where soft 
places have been found in the stone, or whirling eddies in 

* The Great Natural Bridges of Utah, Bulletin of the University of 
Utah. 



COLOSSAL NATURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH 189 

former ages have ground out cisterns. Some of these are mere 
shallow tanks, while others reach down twenty feet and more 
through the solid sandstone. Some are irregular and winding 
in their course, while others look as though they had been sunk 
by some Titanic drill when the gods were playing with the 
earth's crust. A few drain considerable areas of the cliff, and 
in time of storm many a rushing torrent loses itself in their 
depths. In a few instances such a reservoir has been formed 
directly behind a cave that was being hollowed out of the side 
of the cliff. As the walls of the cave gradually extended back- 
ward farther and farther into the cliff, the reservoir was sunk 
deeper and enlarged little by little until its bottom broke 
through into the back of the cave. Then the waters formerly 
gathered into the reservoir and held, surged through the cave 
and lost themselves in the valley below. Every downpour of 
rain and every driving wind carried the work a little farther 
until the former roof of the cave became an arch. When the 
reservoir held the waters until its depth about equalled that 
of the cave, then the gracefully curving arch of the cave be- 
came a real bridge as in the case of the fine arch already men- 
tioned, which we have christened Pikyabo (Pee-kya-bo), the 
Ute name for Water Tank.* 

One may visit these bridges from Bluff or Oljato, or may 
correspond with Wetherill and Colville, at Kayenta, Arizona, 
as suggested in the chapter on Betatakin and Kitsiel. To 
those who enjoy horseback riding and camping out the trip 
will be a revelation of delight, and far more than compen- 
sate for all the hardships the journey may entail. 

* The Great Natural Bridges of Utah, Bulletin of the University of 
Utah. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS AND MONUMENT 

PARK 

Ln<^E the Virginia Natural Bridge, the Colorado Garden 
of the Gods has been so overshadowed by the later 
discoveries in the Land of the Standing Rocks in Arizona 
that it would scarce be deemed worthy a place in this volume 
were it not for its time-honored associations, and the fact 
that it will ever remain to hundreds of thousands of people 
the most remarkable area of erosion they have been able to 
witness. As Clifton Johnson says in his American High- 
ways and Byivays of the Rocky Mountains: 

Among the scenic attractions of the neighborhood, the most 
widely known, aside from Pike's Peak, is " The Garden of the 
Gods." This overspreads two or three miles of rough hills, 
and the growths for which the gods are responsible and which 
lend the Garden distinction, consist of a great variety of fan- 
tastic pillars and ridges of rock, mostly of red sandstone, but 
with an occasional gray upthrust of gypsum. Several of the 
pinnacled and grottoed ridges are of very impressive size, the 
highest over 300 feet ; and in the lofty crannies numerous 
doves and swift-winged swallows have their nests. Down 
below, the prairie larks sing, and the robins hop about the 
ground, and you see an occasional magpie. But to me the 
greatest pleasure I enjoyed in the Garden was the view I had 
thence of the brotherhood of giant mountains clustering about 
the hoary Pike's Peak. 

The Garden of the Gods is seventy-five miles from Den- 
ver, but only five from Colorado Springs. A fine automobile 

190 







'^'r^M 



'f r. S. Geological Sinz'cy 

CATHEDRAL SPIRES 

GARDEN OF THE GODS 



GARDEN OF THE GODS 191 

road connects these two cities, and there is also a good road 
from Colorado Springs on to the Garden of the Gods. Four 
miles out Glen Eyrie is reached, where, though it is a private 
estate, visitors are allowed to enter and see the sandstone 
monuments — some of which are generally supposed to be 
found within the Garden of the Gods. The two chief 
objects of interest are the Major Domo and Cathedral 
Rock. The former, a fantastically-carved piece of almost 
blood-red sandstone, one hundred and twenty feet high, 
with a rude knob or head, has a commanding or half fero- 
cious presence, which is the cause of its title. It is only 
about ten feet in diameter at its base. 

A mile further on the splendid Gateway to the Garden is 
reached. The pillars that compose it are 330 feet high and 
just wide enough apart to allow space for the carriage way; 
in the center of this is a red pillar twenty-five feet high, 
naturally dividing the roadway into an entrance and exit. 
Towering above us as we enter the Garden, the majestic 
and snow-crowned summit of Pike's Peak, over 14,000 feet 
high, fills the horizon, and is beautifully framed in a rich 
setting of red sandstone. 

The Garden of the Gods is a tract of about 500 acres, 
thickly strewn with these fantastic and majestic natural 
monuments in red and white sandstone. The coloring of 
the rocks adds not a little to the effect, and to be properly 
seen the Garden should be visited in the morning or evening, 
when the shadows are long, and so add variety to their 
charm. Immediately after a rain the hues are deeper, and 
the red becomes so vivid that the truthful representations 
of the artist are taken for rude exaggerations. 

Immediately the traveler finds himself within the gate 



192 OUR J M ERIC AN WONDERLANDS 

he is in an enchanted region, where objects unreal, super- 
natural, mighty and strange overwhelm the senses. 

The road winds between every conceivable and inconceivable 
shape and size of rock, from pebbles up to gigantic boulders, 
from queer little grotesques, looking like seals, cats, or masks, 
to colossal forms, looking like elephants, like huge gargoyles, 
like giants, like sphinxes, some eighty feet high, all motionless 
and silent, with a strange look of having been just stopped and 
held back in the very climax of some supernatural catastrophe. 
The stillness, the absence of living things, the preponderance 
of bizarre shapes, the expression of arrested action, give the 
whole place, in spite of its glory of coloring, in spite of the 
grandeur of its vistas ending in snow-covered peaks only six 
miles away, in spite of its friendly and familiar cedars and 
pines, in spite of an occasional fragrance of clematis, or twitter 
of a sparrow — in spite of all these, there is a certain uncanni- 
ness of atmosphere, which is at first ofifensive. I doubt if any- 
body ever loved the Garden of the Gods at first sight. One 
must feel his way to its beauty and rareness, and must learn to 
appreciate it as one would a new language ; even if a man has 
known Nature's tongue well, he will be a helpless foreigner 
here.* 

Two of the mystic figures are much alike, and being 
anchored together at their base by the same rock stratum 
are called " The Twins." Their ogre-like heads remind one 
of Dickens' description of the dwarf Ouilp, or of Victor 
Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame; ugly faces with rude 
protruding lips, their heads swathed in grey turbans. Seen 
in the moonlight, and especially if the stranger's eyes 
should happen to fall upon them unexpectedly, they 
would assuredly startle him by their weird and uncouth 
appearance. 

* I regret I cannot name the author of this beautiful description, 
which I find among my clippings with no mention of its source. 



GARDEN OF THE GODS 193 

More beautiful and impressive are the " Cathedral 
Spires," slender, slim, towering rocks that rise to heights 
varying from loo to about 250 feet, the natural accompani- 
ments of the majestic Cathedral Rock near by. 

Somewhat similar in effect, but more massive and com- 
pact, is the "Tower of Babel." This approaches 300 feet 
in height, and its spires are not so pointed as those of the 
Cathedral, yet they are fantastic and quaint, and lend them- 
selves with peculiar fitness to their name. 

Another of the distinctive features of the rocks is that 
of the toadstools. These vary in size from tiny rocks up to 
six, ten, twelve and more feet in diameter. Some of them 
weigh many tons each. Others look like quaint Chinese 
hats, or a new style of umbrella. One of these is tall 
enough for a man to stand underneath, and a couple of 
children, caught here by a photographer on a rainy day. 
suggested that it was a land for the elves, where tiny lovers 
could find that seclusion and shelter which is dear to the 
hearts of all lovers, human and fairy. To many visitors 
the most interesting of all the rocks is found to be Balanced 
.Rock, a massive cube as large as a dwelling-house, balanced 
on a pivot-like point at its base, as if a child's strength 
could upset it. Yet it is solid, fixed, immovable, and has 
so stood since it was first discovered by man. 

At certain angles a fairly good human profile is to be 
seen upon the face of Balanced Rock — the eyes, nose, and 
mouth being rather well adjusted, though the chin is out 
of all proportion and the brow and head are "hilly and 
hollowy" enough to disconcert the most expert and expe- 
rienced phrenologist. 

All these fantastic and quaint forms have been carved 



194 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

out of the sandstone by the action of rain, wind, storm, 
sand, frost, and atmospheric gases. As the gradual degra- 
dation and cutting out and down of the surrounding rocks 
took place these masses were slowly detached from the 
parent stratum, owing to their having been better protected 
than the rest of the rock, or because they were composed 
of more durable substances, more compacted together, per- 
haps, and thus better able to resist the encroachments of 
the gnawing teeth of Time. 

Possibly the washing down of torrential waters from the 
nearby mountains may have helped considerably in their 
earliest emergence. Certain it is that water and wind have 
been principal agencies in carrying away the dust and debris 
of this Nature workshop. Millions of tons have been thus 
disposed of, some to help fill up the now level country 
beneath, others to aid the rivers in scouring out the wild 
and rugged gorges, ravines, and canyons that have given 
Colorado and the adjacent states some of the most stupen- 
dous scenery known to man. 

Monument Park. The descriptions already given of the 
Garden of the Gods are in some measure appropriate to 
Monument Canyon (or Park, as it is more commonly 
known), although some striking differences may be noticed 
by the careful observer. Until travel was rendered easier 
to the Garden of the Gods Monument Park was the most 
popular resort in Colorado. 

Imagine a great number of gigantic sugar loaves, quite 
irregular in shape, but all possessing the tapering form, 
varying in height from six to fifty feet, with each loaf 
capped by a fiat stone of much darker color than the loaf, 
and having a shape not unlike a college student's mortar- 




Courtesy oj U. S. Geological b'uri'ey 



IN MONUMENT PARK 

FANTASTICALLY ERODED PILLARS 




Courtesy of U. S. Geological Survey 



IN MONUMENT PARK 



GARDEN OF THE GODS 195 

board — such is Monument Park. The capping stones are 
all that remain of a later deposition of sandstone, which 
is somewhat harder and more durable than the whiter sand- 
stone beneath. Consequently as the lower stratum has been 
eroded these caps have preserved the various columns from 
extinction, though the beating rain, wind, and snow have 
continued to gnaw them under the protecting shelter of 
the caps. 

The monuments, for the most part, are ranged along the 
low hills on each side of the park, which is about a mile 
wide, but here and there one stands in the open plain. There 
are two or three small knolls apart from the hills; and on 
these several clusters of the columns are found presenting an 
appearance, at a slight distance, very like that of white 
marble columns so often found in cemeteries. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE OLD FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OF NEW 
MEXICO, ARIZONA, AND TEXAS 

IN crossing" the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
every American, whose business does not compel speed, 
should proceed leisurely, stop off on the way and see some 
interesting place or locality. He should make up a list of 
these " journey breakers " and systematically read up on 
them, for if they are places of historic association or scien- 
tific interest — anything except mere scenery — the more 
knowledge possessed about them the more enjoyable will 
the visit prove itself to be. 

To such a one I offer these old Missions as well worthy 
such study and careful visiting. 

Spain, just after the discovery of America, was a great 
colonizing nation. Not even Rome or Greece, in their days 
of greatest power and conquest, were so successful in their 
planting of colonies in the heart of subjugated countries, 
and impressing their language, foods, and religion upon 
those whom they conquered, as were the Spaniards. Every- 
thing they undertook was carried out, not only with the 
lust of power, conquest, and desire for material gain, but 
the volatile and excitable Latin seemed to be at the flood in 
enthusiasm, energy, and domination. There are such times, 
undoubtedly, in races as there are in men, when they reach 
their prime, and are the most daring, exuberant, powerful, 

196 



OLD FRANCISCAN MISSIONS 197 

and confident, and when their greatest accomplishments are 
achieved. 

For the Spaniards this flood-time came when Cortes, 
Pizarro, Balboa, and Coronado took possession of the two 
Americas, and when the Philippines became tributary to 
their commerce. But unlike the other subjugating nations, 
Spain was fired with religious zeal to spread "the true 
faith" wherever her banners waved. Religion was in her 
blood, and this came up with the flood when Spain arose 
in her assumption of power. She, far more than England, 
was the earnest, devoted, loyal, and determined " defender 
of the faith." Life was of less importance than religion, 
care for the soul's welfare so far transcended care for the 
body that the Holy Inquisition was instituted. Better tor- 
ture men's bodies with rack and thumb-screw, with crushing 
iron-boots and red-hot pincers ; aye, better, even, burn them 
at the stake than let them suffer the pangs and tortures of 
everlasting perdition in the fierce flames of hell ! One has 
but to read Dante to know how fervently this fierce and 
dark theology took possession of this impressionable people. 
And, believing as they did, they felt it with a vigor even 
more potent than that experienced by the Roundheads, the 
puritans of England. Hence they proselyted with unquench- 
able zeal, a zeal that counted not their own lives any more 
than the lives of those whose souls they sought so long as 
eternal salvation was gained. 

With this spirit Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, and 
other Catholic orders were inspired and imbued when the 
new fields of North and South America were opened up by 
the conquistadores. Here were opportunities to save pre- 
cious souls by the hundreds of thousands. The dusky sons 



198 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

and daughters of America were fruit for the gospel net, 
and happy, blessed, favored beyond compare would be those 
servants of God and Mother Church who caught the most 
and brought them safely within the fold. 

Consequently never was such a rage for religious con- 
quest known as swept over the New World at this time. 
With a spontaneous fervor that knew no halting, no reserve, 
that overcame all opposition, that overleaped all barriers 
and triumphed over all obstacles, these long-gowned friars 
carried the cross and administered the rites of the church 
in populous cities, rural communities, fierce deserts, deep 
canyons, dense forests, high mountains, lonely islands. 

Under this impulse the Catholic Church was established 
all over the Americas, and, in addition, the Spanish lan- 
guage was imposed upon, or absorbed by, the people; so 
much so that, in spite of all the changes, the revolutions, 
the counter influences, they remain the most steady and 
permanent factors in their lives even to this present day. 

Among other portions of the New World that felt their 
influences was Lower California. It was Christianized by 
the Jesuit Fathers Eusebius Kino, Juan Maria Salvatierra, 
and Juan Ugarte, who began their devoted and self-sacri- 
ficing labors as early as 1697, and in due time a chain of 
missions, twenty-three in number, reaching almost the entire 
length of the peninsula, was established, the ruins of which 
remain to this day. 

Long prior to this time both Jesuits and Franciscans had 
reached out towards New Mexico. Onate had made his 
reconquest of the country in 1595- 1598, and in 1630 Padre 
Alonzo de Benavides reported to the King of Spain that 
there were about fifty friars at work in New Mexico, serv- 




Photo by H. C. Tibbitts 



SAN XAVIER MISSION 

NEAR TUCSON, ARIZONA 




Photo by aulhoi- 

SAN JOSE DE TUMACACORI MISSION 

NEAR TUBAC, ARIZONA 




ESPADA MISSION 

NEAR SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 





SAN JOSE MISSION 

NEAR SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 



• • ^-Biia^j "?%B»*' 



OLD FRANCISCAN MISSIONS 199 

ing over sixty thousand natives that had accepted Chris- 
tianity; that these lived in ninety pueblos, grouped into 
twenty-five conventos or missions, and that each pueblo had 
its own church. 

This was a W'Onderful record. As far as we know the 
first church built in this new province was that of San 
Gabriel, about 1598, and the fathers must have been indefat- 
igable to produce, with little or no other labor than that of 
the Indians themselves, ninety churches in thirty years. 

Some of these churches still remain, though only to be 
found in sad ruins. Most of them were completely destroyed 
in the great Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, when the Indians 
successfully arose and drove out the Spaniards from New 
Mexico. Fascinating stories are still told of those early 
days by the Indians, when they get together around the fire 
in winter time, and happy is that white man who can prevail 
upon them to let him enter the circle of interested listeners. 

The natives did not long keep their independence, how- 
ever. In 1692 Don Diego de Vargas began the work of the 
reconquest, and by 1700 the Spanish rule was again firmly 
fastened on New Mexico, never to be released until Mexico 
herself severed the bonds that bound her to the mother 
country, became a republic, and New Mexico one of its 
provinces. During those earlier years of reconquest many 
of the churches were built which are found today. Some 
of them occupy the sites hallowed by the blood of the 
martyrs who fought in defense of the earlier structures. 

As related in separate chapters, there are churches at 
Zuni, Acoma, Santa Fe, etc., while at other places only ruins 
remain. At Awatobi — one of the Hopi towns — the 
natives showed kindness to the long-gowned Franciscans, 



200 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

and the medicine men of the other Hopi villages were so 
enraged at this complaisance that they incited their follow- 
ers to a complete destruction of Awatobi. This was accom- 
plished, and several hundred Awatobians lost their lives — a 
story I have told in my book, The Old Missions of Arizona, 
New Mexico and Texas. 

To know the history of these old missions is to be famil- 
iar with some of the most interesting epochs in American 
history, hence they are well worthy the study that will be 
necessary ere one may learn all that he should know. 

While De Vargas was engaged in the reconquest of New 
Mexico events were shaping that were to lead to the estab- 
lishment of a small chain of missions in Texas. The French 
were becoming very active in that direction, and the Spanish 
viceroy determined to forestall action which might lead to 
future claims on behalf of the French Crown. Hence, in 
1 71 5, the Duke of Linares, the viceroy before mentioned, 
sent troops of Franciscan friars into Texas, to establish 
settlements, Christianize the Indians, and, incidentally, pre- 
vent any Frenchman gaining foothold in the same land. 

Soon a fort was established on the western bank of the 
San Pedro River, and it was called San Antonio de Valero. 
In 1 71 8 a Franciscan mission was founded in the same 
settlement. This afterwards became the world-famed and 
historic Alamo, where Travis, Bowie, Crockett, Bonham. 
and about 170 other Texan heroes withstood the savage and 
determined attacks of Santa Anna, the IMexican, with his 
6,000 troops, until every last man was slaughtered. But the 
victory cost Santa Anna dearly. He lost two thousand 
killed and over three hundred wounded. 

The battlefield of San Jacinto was the answer of the 




DOORWAY, SAN JOSE MISSION 

NEAR SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 



OLD FRANCISCAN MISSIONS 201 

United States to Santa Anna's slaughter of the Texans, 
and the defeated Mexican was captured and should have 
been severely dealt with. Political influences, however, 
were brought to bear to save him, and he was ultimately 
released to cause more trouble in Mexico. 

To return to the Texan missions. The foundation stone 
for a church was laid where the Cathedral of San Fernando, 
in the city of San Antonio, now stands, in 1738, and it 
occupied the site until the modern building was erected in 
1873. Prior to the establishnient of this church for the 
presidio of San Antonio de Bexar, other missions had been 
established on the river nearby — those of San Juan and 
San Francisco de la Espada in 1716, and that of San Jose 
in 1820. Ten years later that of La Concepcion Purissima 
de Acufia was started, so that now four missions, besides 
those of the Alamo and the Cathedral, are to be seen within 
six or eight miles of San Antonio. 

These are all of easy access. Travelers going to Cali- 
fornia over the Sunset Route of the Southern Pacific can 
stop over at San Antonio, and in one day — though more 
should be taken — can visit all the six buildings. 

On the other hand, the missions of New Mexico and 
Arizona require time. Except for that of Taos and of the 
other pueblos north of Santa Fe, which are reached from 
the New Mexican Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Rail- 
way, all the others, except two, are best reached, and some 
are directly on the main transcontinental line of the Santa 
Fe. The advertising departments of all these railways will 
be glad to furnish such information as is at their disposal. 
The two exceptions referred to are the very interesting mis- 
sions of San Xavier del Bac, near Tucson, and that of San 



202 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Jose de Tumacacori, near the Mexican border in Southern 
Arizona, and close to the line of the Southern Pacific of 
Mexico, which practically reaches from Tucson to Tepic. 

San Xavier is a magnificent building, recently restored 
by the government, and easily reached by automobile from 
Tucson. That of Tumacacori was generally unknown and 
neglected until some dozen or more years ago, when I drove 
to it from Tucson, and found it in the hands of an Apache 
Indian, the main portion of the church used as a stable, 
and no care whatever being taken of it. I made a number 
of photographs of the interesting building, which showed, 
however, that something must speedily be done to prevent 
it from total collapse. It is now a national monument, and 
it is to be hoped will be cared for, and saved for the genera- 
tions of the future. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

SPARKLING waterfalls, glacially fed fountains, hot bub- 
bling mud-pots, a wildly dashing river, high-spouting 
geysers, a natural glass mountain, gorgeously glowing can- 
yons, rare and majestic trees, lakes of weird and mys- 
terious color, built-up terraces of grotesque architecture, 
rugged and picturesque mountains, tree petrifications, spas- 
modically ebullient hot springs, roaring steam vents, 
quieter fumaroles, together with wild animals tamed and 
made gentle by friendly intercourse with man — these go 
to make up the Yellowstone National Park. 

When the geysers of the Yellowstone were discovered 
no one seems to know, yet the Yellowstone River undoubt- 
edly was known to trappers and others before 1800, as 
David Thompson, connected with the British fur trade in 
the Northwest, gives, in his journal, the location of the 
stream and spells it Yellow Stone. Like so many others 
of the Wonders of the West no one was prepared to 
believe the stories of the Yellowstone when first told. The 
unbeliever and ^oubter have always abounded. He lives yet 
— in large numbers. John Colter, who had come out with 
Lewis and Clark on their memorable journey of western 
exploration, received permission to leave the expedition in 
1806. He became a trapper and undoubtedly was the first 
white man to become familiar with the geysers, mud 

203 



204 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

springs, steam vents, and other wonders of the Yellowstone. 
Yet when he returned to civilization and told of what he 
had seen he was regarded as a modern Munchausen, and 
his stories were set down as lies or the fictions of a dis- 
ordered imagination. Some thirty years later a noted 
western character, Jim Bridger, made considerable repu- 
tation as a wild and fantastic liar, simply because he 
told facts with which the Yellowstone had made . him 
familiar. 

As far as is known, the first reasonably accurate account 
of the Firehole Geyser Basin was written by an employee 
of the American Fur Company, Warren Angus Ferris. 
This was some time in the early forties. From that time 
on, popular knowledge increased with such rapidity that 
in 1869, 1870, and 1871 three parties went out to explore 
the region and thus forever set at rest all questions con- 
cerning it. The first party consisted of only three men, and 
was a purely private affair; the second was a sort of semi- 
official expedition, while the third was sent out under the 
scientific and military departments of the United States 
Government. The immediate result of the last expedition 
was that, in 1872, Congress set aside the park area, as 
bounded by Dr. F. V. Hayden, the eminent head of the 
Geological Survey of the Territories, as a National Park. 
It is a rectangular area, fifty-five by sixty-five miles in 
extent, and occupies the northwestern corner of the state 
of Wyoming and strips of the adjacent states — Idaho and 
Montana. The whole region is mountainous, snow-clad 
peaks looking down upon the geyser-punctured levels from 
elevations of ten to fourteen thousand feet. In traveling 
from Yellowstone Station, Montana, over the Park stage 





4-^ i:-^c 



DOME GEYSER 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 




CoKitesy of Xortlicrn Pacific Ry. Co. 

PUNCH BOWL SPRING 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 









"^^'j^^a ^ 



.-laJN 



"ii^ • TM^I^' - .» 







JUPITER TERRACE 






YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 205 

road one ascends from 6,700 feet to 8,300 feet at the cross- 
ing of the Continental Divide. 

The Park is under the control of the Department of the 
Interior, and all the roads have been built by Government 
engineers. Over one hundred and sixty miles have been 
so constructed, wide enough to allow coaches to pass at 
every point, and reinforced concrete, or steel bridges span 
the streams. The hotels are recently built and afford trav- 
elers every comfort and luxury. 

The Park season opens June 16, and closes September 25, 
and July is a good month for a visit. 

One may reach the Yellowstone from Gardiner, a station 
on the Northern Pacific, at the northern boundary, or Yel- 
lowstone, on the Union Pacific, on the western boundary. 
Both companies will furnish information as to their respect- 
ive routes. 

The regular tours of the Park naturally include the most 
striking features and scenic attractions. These are the 
geysers, the terraces, the hot springs, the bubbling mud vol- 
canoes, the canyon of the Yellowstone River, with its Upper 
and Lower Falls, the obsidian cliff, etc. 

Geysers are simply hot springs in a state of eruption. 
The chief of these are found in Lower, Middle, Upper, 
and Norris Basins. The three first basins are on the Fire- 
hole River, on the western side of the Park. There are lit- 
erally thousands of objects of interest in these basins, and 
merely to enumerate them would be to weary the reader. 

The Great Fountain Geyser, though not so near the Foun- 
tain Hotel as the Fountain Geyser, is one of the most re- 
markable in the Park. General Chittenden says of it : 

Its formation is quite unlike that of any other. At first 



206 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

sight the visitor is tempted to beheve that someone has here 
placed a vast pedestal upon which to erect a monument. It 
is a broad, circular table about two feet high, composed en- 
tirely of hard siliceous deposit. In its surface are numerous 
pools moulded and ornamented in a manner quite unapproach- 
able, at least on so large a scale, in any other part of the 
Park. In the center of the pedestal where the monument 
ought to stand, is a large irregular pool of great depth, full 
of hot water, forming, to all appearances, a lovely quiescent 
spring. At times of eruption the contents of this spring are 
hurled bodily upward to a height sometimes reaching loo feet. 
The torrent of water which follows the prodigious down-pour- 
ing upon the face of the pedestal flows away in all directions 
over the white geyserite plain.* 

In this same basin, too, is the Firehole, from which the 
river gets its name. Many people do not go to see it, as it 
is not on the stage-line and, being off the beaten track, is a 
little hard to find. Then, too, it is uncertain, owing to the 
fact that when the wind agitates its surface its chief attrac- 
tion is not made manifest. 

It is a large hot spring. Apparently arising from its 
clear and pellucid depths is a light-colored flame, which is 
extinguished in the water just before it reaches the surface. 
Flickering back and forth like the flame of a torch in a 
gusty wind, it sometimes possesses a distinctly ruddy tinge. 
Under proper conditions the illusion is perfect, and the 
onlooker is positive he is seeing flames under the water. 
It is caused by jets of superheated steam which emerge 
through a fissure in the rock. These divide the water just 
as bubbles do on a smaller scale, and the reflection from 
the surface makes the flame-like appearance, which is inten- 
sified by the black background of the bottom and sides of 
the pool. 

* The Yelloivstone National Park, By Hiram M. Chittenden. Stewart 
& Kidd Co., Cincinnati, 1915. 




Copyright by Northern Pacific Ry. Co. 

TOWER FALLS 






CofiynaJit by Northern Pacific Ry. Co. 

OLD FAITHFUL GEYSFR 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 207 

Prismatic Lake is exquisitely beautiful. It rests on the 
summit of a self-built mound, gently sloping in all direc- 
tions. The overflow from the spring runs over these slopes 
in tiny rivulets, the channels of which interlace each other, 
giving the Lake the appearance of a large spider, 250 
to 300 feet in size, with its radiating web. Steam hovers 
over it almost incessantly which generally bears a crimson 
tinge, but when the wind removes this steam covering, the 
water is found to possess a prismatic play of colors that is 
alluring and enchanting. 

Perhaps the best known of all the geysers is Old Faithful 
in the Upper Basin. While the Giant, Giantess, Grand, 
Splendid, and Excelsior have more powerful eruptions, the 
Bee Hive is more artistic in its appearance, and the Great 
Fountain has a more wonderful formation, Old Faithful 
partakes of all these characteristics with the invaluable 
addition of uniform periodicity of action. Every sixty- 
five minutes it may be relied upon. 

Night and day, winter and summer, seen or unseen, this tre- 
mendous fountain has been playing for untold ages. Only in 
thousands of years can its lifetime be reckoned ; for the visible 
work it has wrought, and its present infinitely slow rate of 
building up its cone, fairly appall the inquirer who seeks to 
learn its real age.* 

Let us stand and see it in operation. It is in the center 
of an oblong mound, 145 by 215 feet at the base, twenty 
by fifty- four feet at the summit, and about twelve feet high. 
The tube, which probably started through a rock fissure, is 
two by six feet, inside measurement. Lieutenant Doane, 
who first described it, grew eloquent over the rare and 

* The Yellowstone National Park. 



208 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

exquisite quality of the natural adornment of the crater. 
He says : 

Close around the opening are built up walls, eight feet in 
height, of spherical nodules, from six inches to three feet in 
diameter. These stony spheres, in turn, are covered with 
minute globules of stalagmite, incrusted with a thin glazing 
of silica. The rock, at a distance, appears the color of ashes 
of roses, but near at hand shows a metallic gray, with pink and 
yellow margins of the utmost delicacy. Being constantly wet, 
the colors are brilliant beyond description.* 

The rest of the mound is equally beautiful, the deposits 
apparently as delicate as the down on a butterfly's wing, 
both in texture and coloring, yet are firm and solid beneath 
the tread. 

Now a few growls from the throat of the geyser bids 
us be ready. Without further warning a graceful column 
of water six feet in diameter rises to a height of 150 feet, 
with no other noise than that made by an ordinary hose, 
somewhat intensified. For several minutes it leaps upward 
with recurrent intervals, the great mass of water falling 
directly back into the basin and flow^ing down the mound's 
slopes in large quantities. The breeze sometimes seizes 
the stream and carries it away, unfolding it like an enor- 
mous prismatic flag from its w^atery standard. Spray and 
steam glisten and sparkle in the sunbeams like jeweled lace 
fit only for fairies to wear. In the glow of the sunrise or 
sunset it flashes forth fire like the ruby, and scintillates in 
radiant splendor as from a hundred thousand opals. In 
the moonlight it seems like some solemn ceremonial con- 
nected wnth a bridal, the floating veils becoming almost 
unearthly in their snowy whiteness. 

* Quoted in Wonders of the Yellozcstone, by James Richardson. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1886. 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 209 

Not far away is the Giantess, a fountain geyser of infre- 
quent and irregular operation, and happy is that visitor who 
happens to be present when it deigns to perform. Mr. 
N. P. Langford, the first superintendent of the Park, thus 
describes the first eruption known to have been seen by 
white men : 

No water could be discovered, but we could distinctly hear 
it gurgling and boiling at a great distance below. Suddenly 
it began to rise, boiling and spluttering, and sending out huge 
masses of steam, causing a general stampede of our company, 
driving us some distance from our point of observation. 
When within about forty feet of the surface it became sta- 
tionary, and we returned to look down upon it. It was foam- 
ing and surging at a terrible rate, occasionally emitting small 
jets of hot water nearly to the mouth of the orifice. All at 
once it seemed seized with a fearful spasm, and rose with 
incredible rapidity, hardly affording us time to flee to a safe 
distance, when it burst from the orifice with terrific momen- 
tum, rising in a column the full size of this immense aperture 
(eighteen feet) to the height of sixty feet; and through and 
out of the apex of this vast aqueous mass, five or six lesser 
jets or round columns of water, varying in size from six to 
fifteen inches in diameter, were projected to the marvelous 
height of two hundred and fifty feet. These lesser jets, so 
much higher than the main column, and shooting through it, 
doubtless proceed from auxiliary pipes leading into the prin- 
cipal orifice near the bottom, where the explosive force is 
greater. . . . This grand eruption continued for twenty min- 
utes, and was the most magnificent sight we ever witnessed. 
We were standing on the side of the geyser nearest the sun, 
the gleams of which filled the sparkling column of water and 
spray with myriads of rainbows, whose arches were constantly 
changing, dipping and fluttering hither and thither and dis- 
appearing only to be succeeded by others, again and again, 
amid the aqueous column, while the minute globules into which 
the spent jets were diffused when falling sparkled like a 
shower of diamonds, and around every shadow which the 
denser clouds of vapor, interrupting the sun's rays, cast upon 



210 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the column, could be seen a luminous circle radiant with all 
the colors of the prism, and resembling the halo of glory repre- 
sented in paintings as encircling the head of Divinity. All 
that we had previously witnessed seemed tame in comparison 
with the perfect grandeur and beauty of this display.* 

There are many mud volcanoes in the park, the chief of 
which ]\Ir. Langford thus describes : 

About two hundred yards from a cave which ejected hot 
water with great force is a most singular phenomenon, which 
we called Muddy Geyser. It presents a funnel-shaped orifice 
in the midst of a basin one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, 
with sloping sides of clay and sand. The crater or orifice at 
the surface is thirty by fifty feet in diameter. It tapers quite 
uniformly to the depth of about thirty feet, where the water 
may be seen, when the geyser is in repose, presenting a surface 
of six or seven feet in breadth. The flow of this geyser is 
regular every six hours. The water rises gradually, com- 
mencing to boil when about half way to the surface, and 
occasionally breaking forth in great violence. When the crater 
is filled, it is expelled from it in a splashing, scattered mass 
ten or fifteen feet in thickness to the height of forty feet.f 

Another mud geyser he thus describes : 

While returning by a new route to our camp, dull, thunder- 
ing sounds, which General Washburn likened to frequent 
discharges of a distant mortar, broke upon our ears. We fol- 
lowed their direction, and found them to proceed from a mud 
volcano, which occupied the slope of a small hill, embowered 
in a grove of pines. Dense volumes of steam shot into the 
air with each report, through a crater thirty feet in diameter. 
The reports, though irregular, occurred as often as every 
five seconds, and could be distinctly heard half a mile. Each 
alternate report shook the ground a distance of two hundred 
yards or more, and the massive jets of vapor which accom- 
panied them burst forth like the smoke of burning gunpowder. 

* Wonders of the Yellozvstone. 
t Ibid. 




Courtesy of Northern Pacific Ry. Co. 

GROTTO GEYSER 







Coinli'sy of Korthern PacKc Ry. Co. 

CLEOPATRA TERRACE 




Copy/ liiht by A'ui thci ii I'acific Ry. Co. 



SILVER CORD CASCADES 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 211 

It was impossible to stand on the edge of that side of the 
crater opposite the wind, and one of our party was rewarded 
for his temerity in venturing too near the rim, by being thrown 
by the force of the vohime of steam violently down the outer 
side of the crater.* 

Dr. Hayden was much impressed by this volcano. He 
says: 

It does not boil with an impulse like most of the mud 
springs, but with a constant roar which shakes the ground for 
a considerable distance, and may be heard for half a mile. A 
dense column of steam is ever rising, filling the crater, but 
now and then a passing breeze will remove it for a moment, 
revealing one of the most terrific sights one could well imag- 
ine. The contents are composed of thin mud in a continual 
state of the most violent agitation, like an immense caldron 
of mush submitted to a constant, uniform, but most intense 
heat.f 

Of the canyon of the Yellowstone River and its falls a 
brief description must suffice. Not so vast and awe-inspir- 
ing as its great counterpart of the Colorado River, many 
deem its coloring more vivid, varied, and wonderful. It is 
justly entitled to rank among the natural wonders of the 
world, for few scenes so completely unite as it does the two 
requisites of majesty and beauty. 

The canyon in its largest section measures 2,000 feet at 
the top, 200 feet at the bottom, and is 1,200 feet deep. 
General Chittenden says of it: 

It is volcanic rock through which the river has cut its way 
that gives the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone its distinctive 
character. It is preeminently a canyon of color. The hue has 
no existence which cannot be found there. " Hung up and let 
down and spread abroad are all the colors of the land, sea, and 
sky," says Talmage, without hyperbole. From the dark, for- 

* Wonders of the Yellowstone. • 
t Ibid. 



212 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

est-bordered brink the sides descend for the most part with 
the natural slope of the loose rock, but frequently broken 
by vertical ledges and isolated pinnacles which give a castel- 
lated and romantic air to the whole. Eagles build their nests 
here and soar midway through the vast chasm far below the 
beholder.* 

Half a mile above the Upper Falls the Yellowstone gives 
no intimation of its approaching career of wildness and 
grandeur. It rolls peacefully between low verdant banks 
and over pebbly beaches or spaces of quicksand, with beau- 
tiful curves and a majestic motion. Mr. Langford says 
of the Upper Falls : 

It is entirely unlike the Lower Fall. For some distance 
above it the river breaks into frightful rapids. The stream 
is narrowed between the rocks as it approaches the brink and 
bounds with impatient struggles for release, leaping through 
the stony jaws in a sheet of snow-white foam over a precipice 
nearly perpendicular, 140 feet high. Midway in its descent 
the entire volume of water is carried by the sloping surface 
of an intervening ledge twelve or fifteen feet beyond the ver- 
tical base of the precipice, gaining therefrom a novel and inter- 
esting feature. The churning of the water upon the rocks 
reduces it to a mass of foam and spray, through which all 
the colors of the solar spectrum are reproduced in astonish- 
ing profusion. What this cataract lacks in sublimity is more 
than compensated by picturesqueness. The rocks which over- 
shadow it do not veil it from the open light. It is up amid 
the pine foliage which crowns the adjacent hills, the grand 
feature of a landscape unrivalled for beauties of vegetation 
as well as of rock and glen.f 

Of the Lower Fall, General Chittenden has this to say: 

This must be placed in the front rank of similar phenomena. 
It carries not one-twentieth the water of Niagara, but Niagara 

* The YcUozvstnne Naiional Park. By H. M. Chittenden, Stewart & 
Kidd Co., Cincinnati. 

t Wonders of the Yellozvstone. 




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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 213 

is in no single part so beautiful. Its height is 310 feet. Its 
descent is very regular, slightly broken by a point of rock 
on the right bank. A third of the fall is hidden behind the 
vast cloud of spray which forever conceals the mad play of 
the waters beneath; but the mighty turmoil of that recess in 
the rocks may be judged from the deep-toned thunder which 
rises in ceaseless cadence and jars the air for miles around.* 

To many visitors the stream far down in the bottom of 
the canyon is the crowning beauty of the whole scene. It 
is so distant that its rapid course is diminished to the 
gentlest movement, and its continuous roar to the subdued 
murmur of the pine forests. Its winding, hide-and-seek 
course, its dark surface where the shadow's cover it, its 
bright limpid green under the play of the sunlight, its ever- 
recurring foam-white patches, and particularly its display 
of life where all around is silent and motionless, make it 
a thing of entrancing beauty to all who behold it. 

Here, then, in imperfect outline is the Yellowstone Na- 
tional Park presented. Alluring, mysterious, enchanting 
in the peculiar rarity of its attractions, combining a won- 
derful variety with which to play upon the varied emotions 
of mankind, embowered in majestic ranges of mountains 
that in themselves demand homage by their surpassing 
grandeur, every traveled American must see and know the 
Yellowstone before he can regard his ordinary education 
as complete. A tour, with General Chittenden's excellent 
manual in hand (from which quotations have been made), 
will afiford immense satisfaction and lasting pleasure. 

* The Yellowstone National Park. 



CHAPTER XXII 

ON THE ROOF OF THE CONTINENT— THE GLACIER 
NATIONAL PARK. MONTANA 

EIGHTY glaciers, some of them five square miles in 
area, over 250 lakes, surrounded by steep and beauti- 
fully wooded mountains or precipitous rock walls, and com- 
prising 915,000 acres in all, this wonderful Montana park 
is worthy its name, and was set apart for the public pleasure 
none too soon. On the north it touches Canada, on the 
south is bounded by the Great Northern Railway, on the 
east by the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and on the west 
by the Flathead River. Not its least charm is its majestic 
mountain peaks, Mount Cleveland, 10,438 feet; Mt. Jack- 
son, 10,123 feet, and a score or more of others ranging in 
height from 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea-level. It is a 
veritable Continental Divide, for waters start from these 
crests that flow westward into the Pacific, northward into 
Hudson's Bay, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. 

While one cannot automobile directly into the nose of a 
glacier here, as is possible in the Mt. Rainier National Park, 
he can have far more extent of automobile riding in the 
interior of the park itself. For a fine road has been con- 
structed reaching from Glacier Park Station, on the Great 
Northern Railway, over fifty miles northward, to the Mc- 
Dermott Lake. Standing with open arms of welcome at each 
end of this road are magnificent hotels. Glacier Park Hotel. 

214 



THE ROOF OF THE CONTINENT 215 

and Many-Glacier Hotel. Both are log hotels, in perfect 
keeping with their surroundings, and each has accommoda- 
tions for over 400 guests. They are owned and operated 
by the Great Northern Railway. It would be a great error, 
however, to conceive of these hotels as mere mountain 
makeshifts. When it is known that each of these hotels 
cost a half a million dollars, and that the forest lobby of 
the Glacier Park Hotel is already famous as one of the most 
striking hotel lobbies in the world, one will realize that 
provision is made for a large and first-class clientele, who 
need and demand the best for their comfort and luxury. 

Nor should it be thought that the automobile road above 
referred to is the only road in the Park. There are others, 
though they are rough mountain roads, or horseback trails. 
Another great advantage of this Park is that permanent 
camps are established within an easy walking day's distance 
of each other, so that those who want to see the Park's won- 
ders in their fullness, and yet must be economical, can do so. 
The camps are from eight to sixteen miles apart, guides are 
not necessary, and one's expenses, if he provide his own out- 
fit, need not be over one dollar per day, though if he sleep at 
the chalet camps, the cost will be from $3.25 to $3.50 per day. 

Perhaps it is well that I should enlarge somewhat upon this 
popular feature of touring Glacier National Park. From 
reference to the folders of the Great Northern Railway 
(which may be had free on application to the Advertising De- 
partment, St. Paul, Minn.), it will be seen that it plans, not 
only automobile, wagon, and horseback trips for its patrons, 
but makes especial mention of walking and camping tours. 

There are regular automobile stages between Glacier Park 
Station and Many-Glacier Hotel, and Two Medicine Camp, 



216 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

and a stage service between Belton Station and the foot of 
Lake McDonald. This latter connects with launches for all 
points on the lake. Regular launches are also operated on 
Upper St. Mary Lake. 

Sportsmen contend that this Park is the greatest game 
preserve on the American continent. An elk was killed 
two years ago whose horns had a spread of fifty-six inches, 
and five years ago Chief White Calf, of the Piegan Indians, 
killed two grizzly bears, their skins being larger than any 
from the biggest buffalo of which hunters have any record. 
Frank Higgins, the pioneer mountain hunter of the region, 
says he believes it is the greatest elk range on the continent. 
Here are also to be found mountain goats, big-horn sheep, 
moose, lions, grizzly, brown and black bear, deer, antelope, 
and an almost endless variety of the smaller game. In 191 2 
hundreds of deer appeared in the valleys along the western 
slope of the Continental Divide, just outside the Park breed- 
ing grounds, evidently lured there by the extra good feed, 
and having been trained to feel secure owing to the game 
preservation so rigidly observed in the Park's domain. 

Trout fishermen also say that it is an incomparable region 
for their sport, ecjual to the Tahoe country, which is like 
saying it is w^ell-nigh perfect. 

The varieties are the small flat trout, the cutthroat, Dolly 
Varden and rainbow trout, varying in size from half a 
pound to the large Bull and Mackinac trout weighing up to 
twenty pounds. Of these the gamest fighter is the cut- 
throat, so called from the two streaks of red running parallel 
beneath its gills, which inhabits most of the streams and 
many of the lakes. Bull trout are found mostly in St. Mary 
Lake. They can be depended upon to put up a hard fight. 




Copyright, Kjscr Photo Co. 

MOUNT JACKSON 

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA 



THE ROOF OF THE CONTINENT 217 

All persons desiring to fish the waters of Glacier National 
Park must obtain fishing license under the laws of the 
State of Montana, Fees for these licenses are : Residents 
of state $i.oo, non-residents $2.00. 

A very interesting and finely illustrated forty page book- 
let entitled " Where the Fighting Trout Leap High," telling 
of these fish, will be sent on application to the Great North- 
ern official before referred to. 

Those, too, who enjoy meeting Indians will here find 
abundance of them. Less corrupted by contact with whites 
than many of the more southerly tribes, the Piegans or 
Blackfeet have preserved their original independence and 
many of their aboriginal customs. Yet, since the advent 
of the automobile, they have hastened to clasp hands with 
the white tourists, greeting them with smiles and friendli- 
ness, welcoming them to their campfires, and even acting as 
guides. One of the great pleasures of such a trip as one 
may take in the Glacier National Park is to engage an intel- 
ligent Indian, let him guide you over glaciers, and mountain 
trails, escort you to secret places with which he is familiar 
in forest and canyon, show you where the best game is to 
be found, and where the finest trout lurk, and then, partic- 
ularly, at night time, around the campfire, when your 
blankets have been unrolled and a rock is heating to keep 
your feet warm during the night, get him to tell you some 
of the Stories of the Old. There is not a lake, a glacier, a 
peak, even a prominent cliff or rocky feature of any kind, 
that does not have a legend connected with it, and these 
legends are often full of vivid and brilliant imagination. 
For instance, Katherine Louise Smith thus tells " Why Two 
Medicine Lake received its name." 



218 OUR J M ERIC J N WONDERLANDS 

As the story goes, there was a famine in the land. Even the 
buffalo had left, and there was nothing to eat but berries. The 
Blackfeet are plains Indians, and this loss of game meant to 
them virtual starvation. So the wise men of the tribe came 
up into the mountains and built two medicine lodges on the 
shores of this lake to worship the Great Spirit and pray that 
they might be relieved from the famine. When the Great Spirit 
heard them, he directed that some of their oldest men should 
go to Chief Mountain, where the Wind God held sway. The 
old men were afraid to approach the Wind God, and so the 
Great Spirit directed that the medicine men send their young- 
est and bravest warriors. These young men, when they reached 
Chief Mountain and saw the Wind God, were also afraid ; but 
they drew nearer and nearer to him and finally dared to touch 
the skins he was wearing. They made their prayer, and he 
listened. Stretching one wing far over the plains, he told them 
in this way to go back there and they would find the buffalo. 
The warriors descended to the valley and brought the good 
news to their people. They found that the buffalo had already 
come back and that their famine was broken.* 

The largest and most wonderful glacier in the Park is the 
Blackfoot Glacier, one of the largest, if not the largest, in 
the United States. It is three square miles in extent and 
is at an altitude of 7,000 feet. It is regarded as especially 
dangerous near the upper cascades, and no one is allowed 
to go upon it without competent guides. 

On the other hand, Dr. William T. Hornaday, in his 
interesting little monograph, " Glacier National Park," says 
of the Sperry Glacier : 

It is so near to Lake McDonald that a child of sixteen can 
attain it ; but the fat man or the timid lady surely needs a rope 
to give confidence up a certain thirty feet of rock wall that 
cannot be ignored. 

The Sperry is not by any means a big glacier; but it is big 

*"Glacier National Park," The Outlook, Oct. 28, 1914. 




ICEBERG LAKE 

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK 




LAKE McDERMOTT, AN Ak I I .> I .^ i'.\RAI*l 

C.LACIEK NATIONAL I'AKK 



THE ROOF OF THE CONTINENT 219 

enough to have given thrills to a great many appreciative tour- 
ists out for their first offense, 

I know of no one spot in the new wonderland park where 
the tourist can get so much for so little as in the Sperry Glacier 
region. On that short jaunt from Lake McDonald you can get 
a mighty good series of samples of Glacier Park. There is the 
lovely green timber, the Sperry Basin, the view of Gunsight 
region, Lake Ellen Wilson, the glacier itself, and Avalanche 
Basin, into which the glacier's water falls. You can climb 
down directly from the glacier to Avalanche Basin ; but it is a 
dangerous and difficult task, and good guides advise against it. 
It is best to take horses at the Glacier Hotel and ride to the 
basin ; but on a dripping day you want all the waterproofs there 
are in the whole world.* 

And of the lakes he says: 

Take them all in all, coming or going, I think the lakes fur- 
nish the greatest charm of Glacier Park. The mountains and 
peaks are the monuments of the ages, the glaciers are the nat- 
ural curiosities, the woods are the green textile embroidery ; 
but the lakes are the jewels that have been set by the hand of 
God himself. Show me the man who is insensible to their 
charms, and I will show you a Hopeless Case. 

Seen close at hand, the big ones, like McDonald, are deeply, 
darkly, beautifully blue, bordered by limpid green. Seen from 
aloft, the small lakes, Gunsight and Ellen Wilson, embosomed 
in the high ranges, are like polished emeralds — clear, green, 
and surpassingly lovely. A lake like Ellen Wilson, as seen 
from Lincoln Peak on a still and clear afternoon, is enough to 
make a lump rise in the throat of a marble Buddha. There are 
a few things in scenery that cannot be described, and to my 
mind, a high mountain lakelet is one. The clearness of the 
water along the rocky shores appeals to me. In the Corcoran 
Art Gallery you can find this charming feature beautifully de- 
picted in Bierstadt's painting of Mount Corcoran. 

The lakes of Glacier Park reveal two distinct types. The 
first is the large, deep, sea-going lake, like McDonald, from 250 
to 300 feet deep, occupying a large basin, and affording much 

* The Mentor, June i, 1914, the Mentor Association, N. Y. 



220 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

entertainment. The other is the jewel type, Hke Lakes Ellen 
Wilson and Gunsight, too small to navigate and too large to 
be carried away, and mounted in gold, as jewelry.* 

Miss Katharine L. Smith has this to say of the lakes : 

A few of these lakes are circular in form, but the typical 
lake of this region is long and narrow. The settings of almost 
all are sublime. Giant pines fringe their edges, and bleak and 
bare mountains rise precipitously from their shores. One lake, 
known as Iceberg Lake, which can be reached from Many- 
Glacier Camp, is the only lake of its kind to be found on the 
continent of North America. At one end is a small glacier, 
and during the warm days of summer this mass of ice moves 
out over the edge of the solid wall that holds it, and great 
chunks as big as the Flatiron Building in New York City go 
plunging down into the water. The elevation at this point is 
so high that the lake never becomes warm enough to melt the 
ice entirely. There are always several huge icebergs floating 
on its surface. Iceberg Lake was thought by the Indians to 
be the home of lost souls and troubled spirits. Avalanche 
Lake, in Avalanche Basin, at the head of Lake McDonald, is 
another beauty that is well worth a day's jaunt to reach. It is 
the favorite with persons unaccustomed to horseback, for the 
trail is an easy one through pine forests until, as the rider sud- 
denly emerges at what seems a hole in the Rockies, the lake 
bursts upon the traveler's vision, a gem often seen through a 
halo of purple mist. This lake is two miles long, with a border 
of green. Its chief charms are four waterfalls tumbling down 
from the surrounding hill. In the distance these great falls 
seem like ribbons flung from the trap, to end in milky foam 
below.f 

In addition to material issued by the Great Northern 
Railway, the Superintendent of National Parks, Monadnock 
Building, San Francisco, Calif., will send to applicants the 
government's pamphlet on Glacier National Park. This is a 
compendium of information which all should obtain before 
making the trip. 

* The Mentor, June i, 1914. ^ The Outlook, vol. 108, p. 483, 1914. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

RAINIER NATIONAL PARK 

TIME was when even the scientists said there were no 
glaciers within the boundaries of the United States. 
Then John Muir, discovered true glaciers in the Sierras, 
after months of careful and scientific investigation, and 
soon it was known that there were many " snow banks " in 
our mountains, all of which possessed the characteristics 
of true glaciers. 

Around Mt. Rainier — alas! that the glorious Tahoma, 
" the Mountain that was God," as the Indians term it, should 
be known by the name of an English naval officer, instead 
of by its own perfect name — there are many glaciers, and 
in conformity with the growing custom of setting aside as 
National Parks those scenic attractions that, forever, should 
belong to the people, the Mount Rainier National Park was 
so set apart in March, 1899. It comprises 207,360 acres 
and includes the whole mountain and its wonderful radia- 
ting system of glaciers, one of the largest, belonging to a 
single peak, in the known world. 

To visit glaciers in an automobile seems to be an impossi- 
bility, yet, nowadays, it is the impossible that people 
demand. Therefore Nature even seems to yield, and at 
Rainier one rides in an automobile over a well-constructed 
government road right to the very nose, or " snout " of the 
Nisqually Glacier. Rainier park, with its glaciers, must not 

221 



222 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

be confused with Glacier National Park, in Montana, to 
which another chapter is devoted. 

Rainier National Park is a nearly perfect square, each 
side of which is eighteen miles long, and it is completely 
surrounded by the Rainier National Forest. It may be 
reached either by rail or automobile from Tacoma or 
Seattle, the rail route, however, terminating at Ashford, 
thirteen miles from Longmire Springs. This gap is cov- 
ered by the auto stage line. This is the entrance to the 
southern portion of the park. On the north access is gained 
by the Northern Pacific to Fairfax, where there are no 
hotels, and camping out is the only method of travel. To 
those who enjoy rough and ready western life their trip 
to the summit of the mountain from this entrance is most 
enjoyable. 

Even those who wish to travel no further than the auto- 
mobile will take them will still find much pleasure in a visit 
to the Nisqually Glacier. The ride is over an excellent road, 
the first twenty-eight miles of which, from Tacoma, is at 
the base of huge timbered bluffs, which rise sheer from the 
prairie level, or through timbered spaces where the trees 
are mirrored in the crystal waters of many lakes. When 
the top of King Hill is reached, overlooking Ohop Valley, 
a glorious view is to be obtained on a clear day. The 
majestic mountain dome, clad in its robe of pristine purity, 
dominates the landscape, with its assemblage of sister peaks 
doing it homage. By skilful engineering the road strikes 
Nisqually Canyon at its very tip, and here one gazes down 
into the i.ooo feet deep abyss at the bottom of which the 
Nisqually River winds its roaring way to the sea. 

In this canyon we see the Tacoma electric plant, con- 



RAINIER NATIONAL PARK 223 

structed at an expense of $2,500,000. For quite a distance 
the road hovers close over the canyon's depths, then, sud- 
denly, it plunges into the great fir forest, and an entirely 
new series of effects are produced. But the ascent is ever 
gradually maintained until the log gateway of the Park is 
reached. Still on and on through dense timber which 
grows taller and taller as we proceed. These are fir and 
hemlock, cedar and tamarack, spruce and pine, maple and 
Cottonwood, alder and sycamore, until even the dust of the 
road takes on a greenish tinge. At Longmire Springs there 
are two hotels, one for the luxurious, the other for those 
who do not mind the simplicities and economies. 

The mountain road really begins here. For five and one- 
half miles it switches and crooks, turns and twists, making 
all kinds of curving and doubling figures, but ascending 
constantly, and revealing pictures of sublimity, glory, and 
enchantment until, at last, on a bridge, we stand and con- 
template the great wall of ice of the Nisqually Glacier, less 
than a thousand feet away, and our automobile journey 
is at an end. From this point we go higher by wagon, on 
horseback, on foot, amid real Alpine glories. Trails have 
been constructed in every direction to make the glaciers and 
other delights of the park more easily accessible. There 
are the Nisqually, Cowlitz, Ingraham, Ohanapecosh, Fry- 
ing-pan, Emmons, Winthrop, Carbon, Russell, the two 
Mowich, Edmunds, Puyallup, Tahoma, Pyramid, Kautz, 
Van Trump, and Wilson Glaciers. Here one may revel for 
days in the marvelous scenery of glaciers — crevasses, ice- 
bridges, glacial fountains, hidden rivers, and the play of 
sunbeam and moonbeam upon, in, and through the crys- 
tal ice. 



224 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

But the chief delight of the trip to the adventurous is 
the ascent of the mountain. This is generally made from 
Reese's Camp in Paradise Valley, 5,500 feet elevation. 
where guides and proper equipment may be obtained. From 
this point the mountain seems built of snow and ice, as 
though it were a vast pyramid broken through by jagged 
ridges of black rock. A field glass reveals that these blocks 
of basalt and granite are beetling crags, towering pinnacles 
and dizzy precipices, but there being nothing to compare 
them with, their grandeur is not readily perceptible. 

From Puget Sound, Mount Rainier is a thing of inestimable 
beauty, calm, serene, beautiful, a white-robed spirit. There he 
is, close to us, towering over us, a thing of awesome majesty. 
* * * We cannot watch him long and preserve our buoyant 
feeling. He calls, but at the same moment he overwhelms. 

Below us is Paradise Valley, the valley of flowers we trod 
a little while before — the crimson and the orange, red, blue, 
violet, and white swaying gently, with here and there a clump 
of firs. Across from us a great stone ridge, dark, perpendic- 
ular, and foaming from its dizzy heights, are two waterfalls 
that become rivers in the valley below. Then we follow the 
azure sky line and the Tatoosh Range looms rugged, too rugged 
for the snow to cling, save in patches. As far as the eye can 
reach the bold pinnacles stand out, and we realize that beyond 
these stand ridge after ridge. * 

Having passed the scrutiny of the guide, a start is made 

for the summit. The Beehive is passed, the Cowlitz Glacier 

crossed, Camp Muir is reached, and then comes Gibraltar. 

Here let Mr. McCully tell the story of his trip on to the 

last triumphant view from the summit : 

Ahead is Gibraltar, beetling, stern, forbidding, the cause of 
our early start, for at midday he stands impassable. This one 
great wall of rock has sent down avalanche upon avalanche. 

*A. Woodruff McCulIy, in Overland Monthly, June, 1910. 



RAINIER NATIONAL PARK 225 

Barely a day goes by that a tumbling sweep of rock does not 
break from his face. By noon the sun's rays on the melting 
snows have served to dislodge stones enough to start the aval- 
anches. Our guide watches the sky carefully, the face of the 
overhanging cliff, the narrow way ahead, and then looks us 
over anxiously. His word is law here, and we tremble, for not 
one of us would stay behind. 

The wind almost sweeps us from our feet. We hardly dare 
to hug the wall above for fear of starting some loose rock, 
and below us falls another sheer precipice. Yet even here the 
way seems natural, and our ropes almost a nuisance. Gibraltar 
once rounded, we pause for breath. Our battle is almost won. 
The wind bends us ; we cannot stand upright, but we are ready 
to push on. Over snow and ice, rounding a bare pinnacle, 
climbing, slipping, catching a breath, we stagger on, nearer, 
nearer, until — we are there ! Columbia Crest 1 

The gale blows us. It is twenty degrees below zero. The 
steaming rocks of the crater beckon. We climb down to them 
and stretch out, and while we shift uneasily on their hot sur- 
faces, the steam from our damp clothing freezes and forms a 
thin coat of ice wherever the rocks do not touch. It is not an 
exactly comfortable spot. We clamber down and seek the ice 
caves. There the wind is kept from us, and we find compara- 
tive warmth in the great caverns that seem to stretch on and on. 
A crevice here and another there keep us back from explora- 
tion. The light seems strange in our eyes. We munch our 
chocolate, and we feel that nowhere is there rest for us. 
Then we climb back again to Columbia Crest, and brace our- 
selves to look out over the world. The sun shines down on 
us distantly. Far down below we see the mists clinging to the 
Camp of the Clouds. 

But upon all sides of us, stretching mile upon mile, lay 
mountains, peaks, ridges, ranges ; lofty heights and deep 
abysses. There are snow-crowned summits and again whole 
ridges enshrouded in the blue mist of fairyland. Jagged peaks 
against the azure sky, bold rocks and pinnacles thousands of 
feet in height and the gentler snow-white Adams, Baker, Hood, 
St. Helens, on and on as far as the eye can reach. And then 
over these ridges of the Cascade Mountains we look sixty miles 



226 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

away to Puget Sound with its winding sapphire channels and 
bluffs. We see Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Bellingham and all 
the minor ambitious little towns in between — strange little 
blots. We look to the prairies of the east, and then swinging 
back and looking once more toward our beloved Puget Sound, 
we see the mighty Olympics, snow-crowned, bold, yet more 
rugged than the Tatoosh and the Sawtooth ; Mount Olympus, 
majestic, stately, unapproachable, the Brothers, on and on, 
peak after peak, and through the glasses on beyond, dimly, 
faintly, but still there, the sweep of the great Pacific. Moun- 
tains and valleys and cities and lakes with an ocean thrown in 
for good measure. All these lay below the peak beyond 
Paradise Valley.* 

That women may make this ascent is proven by such 
facts as that in July, 19 lo, a party of the Mountaineers' 
Association of Washington, sixty-two in number, with as 
many women as men, made the climb. They camped at the 
end of the first day above the 9,000 foot level, within sight 
of the dome, Columbia Crest, the summit of the mountain, 
14,408 feet above the level of the sea. The following day 
they made the over-five-thousand feet ascent shortly after 
noon, spent an hour on the summit, returned to the 9,000 
foot camp for the night, and descended to the valley the 
following day, proud of their record. 

The United States Department of the Interior issues each 
year a detailed circular on Mount Rainier National Park, giv- 
ing full particulars as to hotels, routes, charges, preparation 
for climbing, clothes, food, costs, etc., a copy of which will be 
sent free of charge to any one on application. A most excel- 
lent and beautiful book dealing with the mountain is entitled 
The Mountain That Was God, by J. H. Williams, of San 
Francisco, Calif., which can be obtained from any bookseller. 

*A. Woodruff McCully, in Overland Monthly, June, 1910. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

CRATER LAKE, OREGON 

IMAGINE climbing a mountain range, overlooking the 
northern portion of the Sun Down Sea, whose general 
average height is as high as Mt. Washington — the highest 
peak, East, North, or South in the United States from the 
Atlantic Ocean to the Rockies in Colorado — and with 
isolated peaks i,ooo, 2,000 and nearly 3,000 feet higher yet. 
This is the Cascade Range in Oregon. Each of these peaks 
is an extinct volcano, and was once active. The fragments 
blown out from them by violent eruptions are scattered all 
about their original orifices and have thus built up great 
cinder cones, while from their bases have spread streams of 
lava — vast rocky blankets of varying thickness — which 
have raised the general level of the country up which we 
climb. Higher and higher we ascend until we reach the 
summit of the range, say between 6,000 and 7.000 feet, or 
the height of Mt. Washington, the crowning summit of the 
Presidential Range in New Hampshire. 

There are several peaks, however, that still tower above 
us. To the southwest, about eight miles away, is Union 
Peak (7,881 feet). Fifty miles south we can see clearly 
the summits of the Siskiyous, which denote the boundary 
line between Oregon and California. To the north is Mt. 
Thielson (9,250 feet), not inappropriately called the Mat- 
terhorn of the Cascade Range — clearly it is volcanic, for 

227 



228 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

we can see the bright colored red, yellow, and brown of the 
burnt tuffs, interbedded with thin sheets of lava, the whole 
cut by an interesting network of dikes, radiating from the 
center of the old volcano. There is a peak immediately 
before us, and it is an important one; being a little higher 
than Union Peak, but not quite so high as Mt. Thielson. Up 
its lava and cinder-strewn slopes we climb, eager to look 
down into the empty and cold mouth and throat of what 
were once fiery furnaces, belching forth flame and molten 
rock in devastating floods. On its sides great blankets of 
half frozen snow now lie, and from these banks numberless 
tiny streams trickle, uniting further down, and sending 
floods to make the life-giving Rogue River, the Klamath, 
and the Umpqua. 

Suddenly the remnant of the rim of the old crater is 
reached, and we prepare to gaze down into its awfully pro- 
found depths, when, to our absolute amazement and startled 
surprise — great as that of Balboa on Darien — we find 
ourselves looking into a crystal clear lake, half filling the 
vast cauldron, which careful measurements show to be fully 
4,000 feet deep, and five and a half miles in diameter. 
There we stand, at 8,000 feet elevation ; so, in round num- 
bers, the lake's level is at 6,000 feet above the sea. 

Such is the world-famed Crater Lake, of Oregon, called 
by its discoverer, John W. Hillman, on June 12, 1853, Deep 
Blue Lake, by others Mysterious Lake, Lake Mystery, Lake 
Majesty, Hole in the Ground, etc., and of which Joseph Le 
Conte once exclaimed: "Yellowstone has its glories, and 
so have the Yosemite and Crater Lake, but their grandeur 
is not in common. You cannot compare unlike things. 
There is but one Crater Lake." 



CRATER LAKE, OREGON 229 

Impressive in its grandeur ; alluring in its great surprise ; 
stimulating in its mystery; inspiring in its sublime majesty; 
satisfying in its supernal and almost weird loneliness, it 
produces an effect upon the mind of the traveled beholder 
entirely different from that caused by any other scene. The 
Grand Canyon of Arizona takes away one's breath and 
appalls in its stupendous vastness; the Yellowstone sur- 
prises with its unique hot-water fountains of such colossal 
height; the Yosemite thrills with its closed-in grandeur, 
supreme majesty, and supernal loveliness; the Painted 
Desert allures by its mystic coloring; the Big Trees almost 
oppress by their dominating supremacy, but Crater Lake 
produces a little of all these feelings, with added qualities 
of surprise, delight, and strangeness — emotions that are 
never forgotten or erased, no matter what one may see in 
after years. 

To comprehend aright the marvelous changes that Nature 
has accomplished in the centuries ere she produced this 
unique Wonderland, let me ask the reader to recall the sub- 
lime majesty of Mt. Shasta — the Fuji-Yama of Northern 
California. This glorious pile is one of the dominating 
peaks of the continent, 14,380 feet above sea-level, rising 
with a majestic sweep of 11,000 feet from the gentle slopes 
about its base, gradually growing steeper upward to the 
bold peak. Its solitariness, its isolation from other peaks is 
one of its chief glories. Nothing dwarfs it, or injures it by 
comparison. Like a lone tree in a desert landscape, or 
Milan Cathedral, or St. Paul's, towering above the pigmy 
houses that surround them, it dominates every unoccupied 
thought, focalizes every undirected gaze. In this it differs 
materially from the mountain which once stood where Cra- 



230 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

ter Lake now reposes in snug seclusion. For Mt. Mazama 
— the name given to this lost, this vanished giant of the 
Cascades — rose in the majestic, sublime, and awe-inspiring 
company of other peaks, from the general 6,000- foot level 
of the range. 

Yet, originally, it must have towered as high as Shasta, 
14,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level. On its slopes vast 
glaciers once formed and slowly carved the canyons of 
Sun and Sand Creeks, leaving their marks of deep glaciation 
easily to be read by the observant and studious. After these 
glaciers were formed and had begun their mountain sculp- 
turing processes, the uneasy and fiery bowels of the earth 
again belched forth their molten and sulphurous flames, 
clouds of smoke and ashes, and torrents of lava, thus com- 
pletely changing the spirit of the scene. Again, after a 
while, the Frost King reigned supreme and snow, neve, ice, 
glaciers ploughed down the lavas, cinders, conglomerates, 
and carried them to make soil for the valley below. How 
many times these antipodal experiences occurred I do not 
know, but unquestionably several times. How fascinatingly 
absorbing to have been able, M-ith actual vision, to see such 
wonderful changes! Now clad in Arctic ice — then in fiery 
floods shot forth from hottest hell. 

But these alternations were doomed finally to cease. A 
tremendous, gigantic, almost inconceivable change took 
place. The upper six to eight thousand feet of this vast cone 
disappeared. 

Where and how? 

The scientists tell us — and we listen because we have no 
better opinions than theirs — that there are two ways only 
in which this could have occurred. It was either b}^ a sub- 



CRATER LAKE, OREGON 231 

sidence, which swallowed it up and digested it for further 
mountain building or world-crust-making elsewhere, or else 
there was a great explosion that shook the roof, as well as 
the roots, of the world and blew the whole head of the 
mountain away. In this latter case pumice and volcanic 
ashes would strew the country round about to great depths. 
This evidence is found. Yet something more important, 
impressive, and lasting would also have occurred. The 
upper walls of the crater would have fallen adown its slopes 
and left their crumbling mass as a silent testimony to the 
ruin their fall had occasioned! As a hundred- feet-high wall 
leaves a crumbling mass after it has tottered and fallen, so 
a great pile of basaltic blocks, wrecked and shattered, i,ooo 
or more feet high, should have been found at the base of 
Mt. Mazama. No such pile, however, is found. 

So, though the evidences are not actually all in sight, the 
consensus of scientific deduction is that Mt. Mazama's crown 
was blown up and then fell into the boiling, bubbling, and 
seething crater and was re-fused and reabsorbed into the 
molten mass beneath. In support of this theory they point 
to a peculiar condition that is clearly seen to have existed at 
Rugged Crest, a point on the outer rim, between Round Top 
and Cleetwood Cove. Here the lava rose and flowed out of 
the crater, but before the central portion of the flow, where 
the mass was thickest, had congealed or solidified, the inner 
portion of the surrounding cone sank away, fell into the 
fiery gulf, and this yet soft mass began to flow hack into the 
crater. But the outer crust of the mass still remained as an 
empty shell, and in due time it fell in and thus formed the 
wild, chaotic valley of tumbled fragments, columns, and 
bluffs that Rugged Crest now presents. 



232 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

It is assumed that the volcanic cone of Mt. Mazama was 
raised higher and higher by the soHdification of some of the 
outpouring lava at each successive flow, until it gained its 
maximum height. Then the column of molten material 
within arose, bubbling, seething, smoking, and bursting, 
until it was fully 8,000 feet above the base of the Cascade 
Range. Imagine so vast a mass of fiery liquid and its tre- 
mendous weight. The heat and weight combined, doubtless 
aided by other forces, compelled an opening far, far down 
on the mountain slope, through which the lava escaped. 
This left the weight of the cone unsupported, save by the 
thin shell of the mountain, which in due time collapsed, 
leaving it somewhat in the condition in which it is found 
today. The geologists, however, have not yet been able to 
find the escaped lava, and the search for it is still being car- 
ried on by those who are interested to know whether the 
above theory is a correct one. 

Anyhow, in due time the volcanic fires within subsided, 
the falling snow melted, and water poured into the once 
active crater. The internal fires and subsequent collapse 
had sealed the basin so that the entering water had little 
outlet, and it has slowly accumulated until now it is nearly 
two thousand feet deep. Pure, clear, uncontaminated in any 
way, it is of the richest, deepest, amethystine blue, except 
close to the shore, where it blends into a rich turquoise. 
When the visitor rides over its surface in a boat the deep 
blue does not lessen, but the color becomes a little richer, 
or brighter. 

Near the shore on the westerly side is a circular island, 
clearly at one time a volcano, 845 feet high, known as 
Wizard Island. In the top of it is an extinct crater 100 feet 




CRATER LAKE 

snows V-SHAPED VALLEYS CLT BY (jLACL\L ACTION 




CRATER LAKE 

WIZARD ISLAND 




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CRATER LAKE, OREGON 233 

deep and 500 feet in diameter. On Wizard Island a small 
lake, which is called Witch's Pool, has been formed of seep- 
age from Crater Lake. Here we have the singular phe- 
nomena of a lake within a lake, and a perfect volcanic cone 
within another cone. 

On the eastern side is another island, formed from the 
rim of the crater by erosion before the water had attained 
its present level in Crater Lake. It is a rugged monolith of 
basalt, carved by weathering into a rude resemblance to a 
ship, and with pinnacles which suggest masts. Hugging the 
eastern shore closely, it is very difficult to see under certain 
atmospheric conditions, hence its name, the Phantom Ship. 

On May 22, 1902, Crater National Park was formed. It 
includes 249 square miles of the Cascade Mountains, the 
chief object of interest being Crater Lake. Yet there are 
many other naturally interesting scenic attractions that the 
visitor should see, such as the Pinnacles in Sand Creek 
Canyon, the Garden of the Gods at the head of Anna Creek 
Canyon, Dewie Canyon, Union Peak, Mt. Scott, etc. The 
Federal Government is building good roads, trails, etc., and 
the Crater Lake Company, Portland, Oregon, has estab- 
lished auto stage lines connecting the lake with the nearest 
railway stations, Anna Spring Camp, Crater Lake Lodge, 
store, livery, etc. This company will be glad to send cir- 
culars of information to all who desire them. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 

IN the sixty-four or more years that have elapsed since its 
discovery, the Yosemite has lost none of its old-time 
power to charm and enthrall. In spite of the facts that 
the extension of railroads, the building of fine automobile 
roads, and the almost universal use of the motor car, have 
made accessible a thousand or more hitherto unknown scenic 
attractions, this peerless canyon valley still reigns supreme 
in the affections of those who know it best. 

John Muir, who yielded his heart to its allurements when 
he first saw it in 1868, after wandering over the Old and 
New Worlds and drinking in their glories with the trained 
eye of a scientific and scenery-loving observer, still wrote 
in 1912 : 

No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. 
Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life. Some lean 
back in majestic repose; others, absolutely sheer, or nearly so, 
for thousands of feet, advance beyond their companions in 
thoughtful attitudes, giving welcome to storms and calms 
alike, seemingly aware, yet heedless, of everything going on 
about them. Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly 
these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the com- 
pany they keep: their feet among beautiful groves and 
meadows, their brows in the sky, a thousand flowers leaning 
confidingly against their feet, bathed in floods of water, floods 
of light, while the snow and waterfalls, the winds and ava- 
lanches and clouds shine and sing and wreathe about them as 

234 




Cotiyriglit by J. T. Boyscn 

EL CAPITAN, YOSEMITE VALLEY 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 235 

the years go by, and myriads of small winged creatures — birds, 
bees, butterflies — give glad animation and help to make all the 
air into music. Down through the middle of the Valley flows 
the crystal Merced, River of Mercy, peacefully quiet, reflecting 
lilies and trees and the onlooking rocks ; things frail and fleet- 
ing and types of endurance meeting here and blending in 
countless forms, as if into this one mountain-mansion Nature 
had gathered her choicest treasures, to drazv her lovers into 
close and confiding communion with her. * 

It is in the words I have italicized that Muir states one of 
the great charms of Yosemite. While the Park is extensive, 
taking in a vast area of many miles, the Valley itself is but 
about seven miles long, half a mile to a mile w^ide, and nearly 
a mile deep. In this limited area are found those distinctive 
features which have set the Yosemite apart as God-blessed 
beyond any similar area of mountain scenery on earth. 

The approach is through a tree-lover's paradise, in which 
grow silver firs, Douglas spruce, sequoias, yellow and sugar 
pines, all of them colossal trees " as wonderful in fineness of 
beauty and proportion as in stature — an assemblage of 
conifers surpassing all that have ever yet been discovered in 
the forests of the world." In the earlier days — before the 
railroad was built, in 1905-7 — the stage roads ascended 
through these trees to the " rim " or edge of the Valley, so 
that it was on the margin of these incomparable forests that 
one's first glimpse was obtained — "a revelation in land- 
scape affairs that enriches one's life forever." 

Almost immediately the observant traveler realizes what 
Professor J. D. Whitney once wrote : 

The peculiar features of the Yosemite are: First, the near 
approach to verticality of its walls ; next, their great height, 
not only absolutely, but as compared to the width of the valley 

*The Yosemite, by John Muir, The Century Co., New York. 



236. OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

itself; and finally, the very small amount of debris or tahis, at 
the bottom of these gigantic cliffs. These are the great char- 
acteristics of the valley throughout its whole length ; but besides 
these, there are many other striking peculiarities and features, 
both of sublimity and beauty, which can hardly be surpassed, if 
equaled, by those of any other mountain scenery in the world.* 

Let us take in to the full the first large, general impres- 
sion, that overpowering sense of the sublime, that led Edwin 
Markham to v^rite: 

No man can stand before the majesty of Yosemite without 
feeling in some degree the divine emotion of sublimity, a sense 
of the unseen mystery of the world — without being stirred by 
a noble reverence for greatness, stirred, perhaps, to noble tears. 
. . . Yosemite is one of the sublimities of the world, 
walled in like the secret city of the Lama, pillared more stu- 
pendously than Karnak, carved and heaved and heaped by cos- 
mic powers that belittle the engineering that lifted the Pyramids 
into time.f 

Nov\r we are ready to study the individualistic features 
that make up Yosemite — the incomparable. Again let me 
quote from California, the Wonderful: 

Now, pushing on into the valley. El Capitan and the Cathe- 
dral Spires appear on either hand, propping the firmament — 
colossal cliffs of granite shaped out of the oldest substance at 
the core of the world. We might well pause here, for a mortal 
pen can give only a faint sense of the tranquil rapture, the 
turbulent glory, the divine dignity of Yosemite. 

Cathedral Spires soar nearly to the level of El Capitan, but 
their look is less unearthly. They recall the works of man — 
Giotto's unfinished Duomo at Florence, ruined, perhaps, like 
poor shell-torn Louvain — ruined, yet glorious in ruin. Con- 
fronting the Spires, El Capitan soars upward in one sheer 

* Quoted in Hutching's In the Heart of the Sierras, Oakland, Cal, 
1888. 

t California, the Wonderful, by Edwin Markham, Hearst's Inter- 
national Library Co., New York. 






Covrtesy of H. C. Tibhitts 

OVERHANGING ROCK, GLACIER POINT 

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 




CouUcsy of tJic Yoseinitc I'allcy Ry. 

THE YOSEMITE FALLS 




Cotirtesy of the Yosemite Valley Ry. 

CATHEDRAL SPIRES, YOSEMITE VALLEY 




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THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 237 

flight of 3,300 feet, impressing the soul with the sense of 
some final culmination, like the Last Judgment. There he 
stands, impervious, imperishable, with the aspect of -immor- 
tality, the gesture of omnipotence. 

Between the Spires and El Capitan lies the floor of the 
valley. Down its center slow^ly and beautifully meanders 
the Merced River, lined on either side with gloriously aspir- 
ing trees and exquisitely blooming flowers. As an added 
grace to the entrance to the Valley, Pohono, the Fall of the 
Evil Wind — the Bridal Veil Fall of the poetic whites — 
sways her mystic, enchanting column of wand-combed 
w-aters, dancing to a hidden rhythm, the very embodiment 
of graceful, serene, proud, self-contained movement, fas- 
cinating and hypnotizing us the longer we gaze. 

Onward our chariot bears us into this valley of sky- 
pouring waterfalls and heaven-aspiring cliffs. In turn 
Pompompasus, the three leaping frogs — the Three Brothers 
— Sentinel Dome, Glacier Point, Yosemite Fall, the Royal 
Arches, Washington Column, and the North Dome come 
into view. But at the upper end of the valley, dominating 
it, even as El Capitan reigns king at the lower end, is the 
superlative ice-sculptured, storm-scarred face of shattered 
Half Dome, more sublime and awe-inspiring, stimulating 
and awakening in its rended mass than the smooth, com- 
plete North Dome on the other side of Tenaya Creek. What 
is it about this battle-worn old monarch of the skies and 
clouds that so instantly commands homage and veneration ? 
Is it not its suggestion of battles bravely fought, storms 
proudly faced, dangers successfully withstood, hurricanes 
defiantly braved? When the cosmic forces were arrayed 
against it and hurled all its powers one after another upon 



238 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

it, never for a moment did it flinch, waver, or retire. Un- 
daunted and self-confident, regardless of what it suffered or 
endured, it stood its ground and is now a living, radiant 
embodiment of the triumphant spirit of Victory. 

Nestling lovingly and confidingly at its base is Mirror 
Lake, that vision of supernal beauty, where two atmospheres 
and worlds meet, where there are two heavens and two 
earths, where the real meets the unreal, and the shadow is as 
absolute to the eye as the substance. Talk about the beauty 
of man-made things, the unequaled power of man's artistry! 
Man may carve a statue, shape a pitcher, build a palace, work 
cunningly in silver, gold, bronze, and iron, paint a picture, 
but none but the Divine could have created Mirror Lake, 
with its momentarily-changing panorama of reflected glories 
and kaleidoscopic colors. 

Even yet we have not exhausted Yosemite. We return 
from Mirror Lake, swing to the right, pass the Happy Isles, 
ride up the tree-embowered trail to Vernal Falls, and then 
on and up to Nevada Falls, each a singing, wind-swayed, 
sun-glorified, air-friction-combed column of light, chanting 
its eternal songs of the joy of life. Circling and twisting 
higher and higher, the trail takes us to Glacier Point, from 
whence we gain new and startling glimpses of the floor of 
the Valley, 2,000 and more feet beneath, and of the far- 
reaching sublimity of the further peaks of the High Sierras, 
where Snow holds court all the year, and feigns supreme in 
his dazzling whiteness and purity. 

From Glacier Point Hotel we ride out to the Mariposa 
Grove of Big Trees, or, if we prefer, we may return to the 
Valley, 2nd ride around by stage to hospitable Wawona, 
where for years the Washburn Brothers, famous through- 




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NORTH DOME 

YOSEMITE VALLEY 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY 239 

out the world for their stage-craft no less than their warm- 
hearted and genuine reception of visitors from every part 
of the globe, hold forth, and go thence to the grove. 
Jusserand, the illustrious ambassador of the French Re- 
public to the United States, with Mme. Jusserand, on their 
trip to the Pacific Coast were limited for time. But they 
had resolved upon the Yosemite trip. As the days of their 
sojourn were devoured, one by one, they dashed down from 
San Francisco to the \^alley, but merely took the glances at 
it that passing by its portal allowed. They had thought it 
all over beforehand, and turning to Mr. R. A. Donaldson, 
of the Southern Pacific Company, who was their pilot, 
exclaimed : " We do not wish to minimize Yosemite,. yet 
we have cliffs and waterfalls and lakes in Europe. These we 
can see any time. But in all Europe there are no Big Trees. 
So let us give all the time we have to them." 

And as they stood in the presence of these solemn and 
hoary giants of the arboreal kingdom, these oldest of Jiving 
things, and greatest, that have lived on "majestically, seri- 
ous, and reticent, in their green eternity, through the crash 
of the human centuries and the ruin of destinies and 
dynasties," they acknowledged their supremacy and, looking 
and studying in reverent silence, turned away, after several 
hours, satisfied. 

So with all visitors to the Yosemite and its neighboring 
Big Trees. None leave it unsatisfied, except save in one 
thing — they have not had enough. They must come again, 
and they do. I have been visiting it as often as I could for 
over thirty years, and I hope to have the increasing pleasure 
for many more. 

To render it easily accessible, the Yosemite Valley Rail- 



240 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

way has been built to the very edge of the Park. It connects 
with both the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe at INIerced. 
At El Portal it has erected a commodious, architecturally 
pleasing, rustic hotel, placed it under first-class management, 
and rendered it a most desirable stopping place preparatory 
to taking the automobile, tally-ho, or buggy trip into the 
Valley. 

The Yosemite is under the control of the Department of 
the Interior, and from the Superintendent (addressed at 
Yosemite Valley, California) those interested may secure 
full information, maps, etc., as well as instructive folders 
from the representatives of the three railways named. 




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THE GRIZZLY GIAXT 

MARIPOSA GROVE OF BIG TREES, CALIFORNIA 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA 

God set seven signs upon this land of ours 

To teach, by awe, mankind his wondrous powers ; 

A river sweeping broadly to the sea ; 

A cataract that thunders ceaselessly ; 

A mountain peak that towers in heaven's face ; 

A chasm deep — sunk toward the nether place ; 

A lake that all the wide horizon fills ; 

A pleasant vale set gem-like in the hills ; 

And, worthy younger brother of all these, 

The great Sequoia, king of all the trees. 

— Charles Elmer Jenny. 

EVER since their discovery the Big Trees of California 
have excited the admiration of the v^orld, the wonder 
of travelers and sight-seers, and the constant interest of 
scientists. As the years have passed there has been no 
diminution of the regard, but a constantly increasing desire 
to see them. The result is that the spirit of commercialism 
that would have continued ruthlessly to destroy them has 
been curbed, and several more or less extensive areas have 
been preserved for the benefit of posterity. 

There are in California two varieties of sequoia — the 
gigantea and the sempervirens. The former are found only 
on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevadas at an altitude 
from about 4,500 to 7,500 feet, and the latter near the 
coast, seldom more than fifty miles away from the Pacific 
Ocean, and extending in a belt from the Oregon boundary 

241 



242 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

line as far south as San Luis Obispo County. Both tiees 
are evergreens, but in the scuipcrvircns, commonly known 
as the California redwood, the leaves are elongated, borne 
on short stems, and extend forward and outward from the 
main stem in a flat spray. Their cones are about the size of 
a thimble, ripening in one season but persisting on the 
branches after the seeds have been discharged. In the 
gigantca the leaves are awl-shaped, sessile (stemless), and 
extend around the main stem. The cones are as large as 
hen's eggs, and mature the second autumn after formation. 
The seeds are tiny and flat, and could easily be confused with 
parsnip seeds. Though both bear seeds, the redwood gen- 
erally reproduces itself from the stump. I haye counted as 
many as three hundred young trees springing up around the 
stump of a felled tree. Nowhere is Nature more generous 
than in the reproduction of these beautiful forest monarchs. 
They fairly crowd one another in their desire to grow. In 
time the larger and more powerful succeeds in rising above 
.the others. They grow in forests in vast numbers which 
cover hundreds of thousands of acres, while, on the other 
hand, the gigantca stand only in clusters, or groups, in fel- 
lowship with other conifers. Hence we seldom speak of the 
forests of gigantea — only in one case, the Giant Forest — 
but always of groves, as Mariposa Grove, Calaveras Grove, 
Fresno Grove, etc. The gigantca reproduce entirely from 
seed. 

It is curious to notice that the sempcrvirens has a ten- 
dency to form, in its upper branches, a leafage like that of 
the gigantca, thus bearing testimony to their relationship. 

There are three or four groups or forests of redwoods 
(sempervircns) easy of access, and I will write of these first. 



BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA 243 

To the visitor in San Francisco an easy group to reach is 
commonly known as the Santa Cruz, or Fremont Group. 
These trees are located on the Santa Cruz branch of the 
Southern Pacific Railway, and the trains stop at Big Tree 
Station, after a seventy-three-mile ride from San Fran- 
cisco, w^hich occupies two hours and a half. The whole 
of this ride is interesting, for it includes the peninsula, 
Palo Alto, San Jose, with glimpses of the Lick Observatory, 
on Mt. Hamilton, the world-famous Santa Clara Valley, 
with its eight million fruit trees, and then the Santa Cruz 
Mountains, so graphically described by Bret Harte in some 
of his earlier stories. This grove of trees is privately 
owned and a small charge is made for seeing them. 

But a few miles further on, sixteen miles from Santa 
Cruz, and seven from the Boulder Creek Station of the 
Southern Pacific, is the California State Redwood Park, a 
forest of 3,800 acres, popularly known as the Big Basin. 
It is a region of volcanic fires, of upheavals and earthquakes, 
of shattering cataclysms and profound disturbances. There 
are clear records of nine distinct and far-reaching upheavals, 
as revealed in as many profound inconformities, and that 
volcanic fires raged in several epochs, one of them for a 
considerable period, is equally well evidenced. It includes 
fully 14,000 acres, is irregularly basin-shaped, with the lower 
rim towards, and close to, the Pacific Ocean. 

When the people of California began to realize that the 
men who thought more of lumber and its cash value than of 
Nature's teachings and what we owe to posterity were rap- 
idly denuding California of its sempervirens, led by Ralph 
S. Smith, an editor of Redwood City, in the eighties, and 
later, in 1900, by Josephine Clifford McCrackin, Carrie 



244 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Stevens Walter, Andrew P. Hill, an agitation was begun, 
and carried on successfully, to " Save the Redwoods." The 
Sempervirens Club was organized, a fight for a State Park 
inaugurated, and in 1901 the California legislature passed a 
bill providing for the purchase of a State Park in the Big 
Basin. Three thousand, eight hundred acres were ultimately 
purchased with the $250,000 appropriation and the Cali- 
fornia Redwood Park came officially into existence. 

For several years the only entrance was by way of 
Boulder Creek, but in 191 5 — California's memorable 
Panama Exposition year — a new road was completed 
direct from San Jose, which is now being used daily for 
automobiles. 

This Park is not merely a forest of sempervirens. It is a 
nature palace of delight, with exhibits of a thousand other 
varieties of trees, shrubs, plants, vines, flowers, mosses, 
rapids, cascades, waterfalls, creeks, boulders, rocks, hanging 
gardens, and fallen logs, enlivened by songs of towhees, 
thrashers, juncos. mocking-birds, white and golden-crowned 
sparrows, bluebirds, rock-wrens, and canyon-wrens, and the 
harsh calls of the catbirds and jays. 

But it is chiefly to the redwoods that the visitor is at- 
tracted. Reaching a height of 275 feet and an extreme 
diameter of twenty-two feet, they stand, the oldest living 
things knozvn. D. M. Delmas, one of California's native 
orators, in a speech before the state legislature, thus de- 
scribes the emotions he experienced in their presence: 

A sense of humility overwhelms you as you gaze upon these 
massy pillars of Nature's temple, whose tops, lost amid the 
clouds, seem to support the vault of the blue empyrean. The 
spell which the mystic light of some venerable cathedral may 



BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA 245 

at times have thrown upon your soul is tame compared to that 
which binds you here. That was man's place of worship ; this 
is God's. In the presence of these titanic offspring of Nature, 
standing before you in the hoar austerity of centuries, how 
dwarfed seems your being, how fleeting your existence ! They 
were here when you were born ; and though you allow your 
thoughts to go back on the wings of imagination to your re- 
motest ancestry, you realize that they were here when your 
first forefather had his being. All human work which you 
have seen, or conceived of, is recent in comparison. Time has 
not changed them since Columbus first erected an altar upon 
this continent, nor since Titus builded the walls of the Flavian 
amphitheater, nor since Solomon laid the foundations of the 
temple at J erusalem. They were old when Moses led the chil- 
dren of Israel to the promised land, or when Egyptian mon- 
archs piled up the pyramids and bade the Sphynx gaze with 
eyes of perpetual sadness over the desert sands of the Valley 
of the Nile. And if their great mother. Nature, is permitted 
still to protect them, here they will stand defying time when 
not a stone of this capitol is left to mark the spot on which 
it now stands, and its very existence may have faded into the 
mists of tradition.* 

There are several noted trees, as the Father of the Forest, 
the Mother of the Forest, etc., which all visitors should not 
fail to see. Nearer, still, however, to San Francisco are the 
Muir Woods. These are just across the bay, seven miles in 
a straight line from the City of the Golden Gate. They are 
reached by ferryboat to Sausalito and thence electric car to 
Mill Valley, and the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Rail- 
way. This remnant of a redwood forest is one of the most 
noted spots in California. The land, comprising 295 acres, 
was purchased by Congressman William Kent and his wife, 
Elizabeth Thatcher Kent, and presented, December 31, 1907, 
to the people of the United States, through the Secretary of 

* California RediVGod Park, by Arthur A. Taylor, W. Richardson, 
Sacramento, Cal. 



246 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the Interior. It was named after John Muir, the poet- 
scientist-naturalist of the mountains of California, and com- 
prises many redwoods which have a height of 300 feet and 
a diameter of eighteen feet and more. 

In the northern part of the state there are still several 
large tracts, virgin and untouched. The people of Humboldt 
County are now seeking to have one of these fine tracts of 
the largest remaining trees set apart as a State Forest, in 
which laudable desire all patriotic citizens will aid and wish 
them Godspeed. 

We must now turn, however, to the other variety of Big 
Trees, the Sequoia Gigantca, which is the king of all trees, 
both in age and size. We are told they grow sometimes 400 
feet high, and numbers of them have a girth of seventy to 
ninety feet. The largest found was thirty-five feet, eight 
inches in diameter, inside tJie bark. 

In the chapter on the Yosemite a brief reference is made 
to the Mariposa Grove. This is reached by stage from 
Glacier Point, Wawona Hotel, Sentinel Hotel in the 
Yosemite A^alley, or El Portal at the end of the Yosemite 
Valley Railway. 

The Merced and Tuolumne Groves are a short distance 
beyond the northeastern boundary of the Yosemite National 
Forest, and are reached by auto-stage from El Portal. 

The Calaveras Grove was the first one discovered. It was 
found in 1852 by A. T. Dowd, a professional hunter, and 
the tree he first saw was afterwards cut down. Its size can 
best be imagined by the fact that on July 4, 1854, J. M. 
Hutchings vouches that he was one of a cotillion party of 
thirty-two persons who danced on the stump, and that 
besides the dancers there were seventeen additional 




COMPARISON OF ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S 
BIG TREES WITH A CHURCH 



BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA 247 

musicians and onlookers, making forty-nine occupants of 
the surface. It was originally 302 feet high and ninety-six 
feet in circumference. Some money-making vandal removed 
the bark to a height of thirty feet, and sent it to the cele- 
brated Crystal Palace, in London, where it was afterwards 
burned. 

In this grove of fifty acres there are ninety-three trees of 
large size, twenty of them exceeding twenty-five feet in 
diameter. It is reached by the Sierra Railway from Oak- 
dale (where change is made from the cars of the Southern 
Pacific) to Angels, and thence by stage. Six miles south of 
the Calaveras Grove is the South Park Grove, containing 
over 1.380 trees. 

September 25, 1890, Congress set apart 161,597 acres in 
Tulare and Fresno Counties as the Sequoia National Park, 
and October i of the same year, 2,536 acres as the General 
Grant National Park. These may both be reached by the 
San Joaquin Valley lines of both the Southern Pacific and 
Santa Fe Railways. Full information of routes and dis- 
tances can be gained from folders issued by both railways, 
and also from a government pamphlet which may be obtained 
from the Superintendent of Public Parks, Monadnock 
Building, San Francisco. 

John Muir, Smeaton Chase, W. L. Jepson, and many 
others have written wonderful words inspired by the noble 
presence and sublime majesty of these trees. Here is what 
Edwin Markham says in his recent book, California, the 
Wonderful: 

They stand hushed and serene in the midst of lesser trees 
whose boughs tremble to every wind that blows. The im- 
mobility of the sequoias is as wonderful as their immensity. 



248 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

Yet the extreme tops of the trees wave in the wind ; and im- 
pressive and subHme is the motion of their lofty branches. But 
their massive boughs, however, do not appear to sway, and 
whenever these ancients of the wood take counsel with one 
another in the upper air, no whisper of it drifts down to the 
listener on the ground. They appear to stand in eternal calm.* 

Elsewhere in the same book he says : 

Majestical, symmetrical, unshaken by wind and storm, each 
tree approaches almost perfectly the archetypal : there is no 
other tree so Aeschylean in dignity. Unsubdued by Time, the 
sequoias stand in their places as the oldest watchers of our 
world. 

* Hearst's International Library Co., New York, 1914. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
THE LAKE OF THE SKY — LAKE TAHOE 

I HAVE called Lake Tahoe the Lake of the Sky because 
the name is singularly appropriate. It is the largest lake, 
with but one exception, at its altitude — 6,250 feet — in the 
world. Its waters more nearly resemble in color the pure, 
deep blue of the high Sierran sky than the water of any lake 
I know; and, further, it so perfectly mirrors the varying 
effects of the sky, in clouds, color, and atmosphere that it 
becomes in itself an inverted sky — a sky seen below, instead 
of above. 

Slowly Lake Tahoe is coming into its own. Even those 
living nearest to it, Calif ornians and Nevadans, do not yet 
appreciate and know it as they will ere long. There is noth- 
ing in the Alps, in Italy, in France, or Spain that equals it. 
Though only a mountain lake of ordinary type, it can be 
said truthfully that it and its environment are unique and 
incomparable. Just as there is but one Yosemite, one Yel- 
lowstone, one Grand Canyon, one Crater Lake, there is but 
one Lake Tahoe. 

Why? 

Let us see if this bold statement can be made good. There 
are eight points, in all of which Lake Tahoe is incomparable : 

(i) Geological history, which includes the continental 
uplift, great volcanic activity, glacial denudation on a large 
scale, and its present varied features and environment. 

249 



250 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

(2) Its abounding glacial lakes, of exquisite beauty and 
charming surroundings. There are literally not scores, but 
hundreds, of them, and each one seems more enchanting 
than the others. 

(3) In these lakes fishing of the finest game trout in the 
world is constant during the season. The clear, cold, crystal 
waters, flowing directly from glacial fountains, make ideal 
conditions for the life of the native trout, and the Loch Levin, 
Eastern Brook, IMackinac, and other varieties that are sent 
in by the million from the various hatcheries. The angler 
is ever sure of his sport and the epicure of his delicious trout. 

(4) The trees of the High Sierras in the Tahoe region 
are not surpassed, and I doubt much whether they are 
equaled in variety, number, size, and beauty, in any region 
of similar area in the world. 

(5) The variety of the scenery of Lake Tahoe and the 
Tahoe region is ever the marvel of its lovers and most fre- 
quent visitants. Hovering over it and almost completely 
surrounding the Lake are snow-clad peaks, from 9,000 to 
12,000 feet high, bathed in a sky of the most ineffable blue 
and in an atmosphere as pellucid as that in which Euripides 
saw the Athenian soldiers marching. Each of these peaks 
bids the visitor climb to supernal heights and dazzling out- 
looks. Below are the hundreds of glacial lakes before 
referred to, and on the slopes are the glorious trees that 
enchant the eye. Hanging directly over Glacial Valley 
is the last great crest of the Sierra Nevada Range, with 
Pyramid and Agassiz Peaks towering above the narrow 
ridge, where glaciers nestle and tell of the past ages when 
the ridge was 5,000, 7,500, perhaps 10,000 feet higher than 
it is at the present day, and when great glacial blankets 




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LAKE OF THE SKY— LAKE TAHOE 251 

flowed down on their gouging, scooping, polishing, beveling 
errands into the valleys below. Then, to the east, lie the 
sagebrush levels of Nevada, surrounded by their colorful 
but always verdureless hills, where gold, silver, and other 
precious minerals have been found into the scores of mil- 
lions of dollars. Nearby are the clearly indicated remnants 
of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan, which reaches from the 
foothills of the eastern Sierras clear across Nevada and into 
Utah, with a corresponding width, north and south. 

(6) Nor is this wonderful variety of scenery confined to 
the immediate neighborhood of Tahoe. It affects all the 
approaches, the railroads and automobile roads, that make 
it so easily accessible. The Southern Pacific from the east 
(Ogden route) crosses the sagebrush wastes of Nevada just 
before it climbs into the very heart of the rugged, tree-clad, 
verdant, snow-covered Sierras. What a marvelous change 
and contrast in a few hours. Coming from the west, the 
Sacramento Valley is crossed, the orchard-blessed foothills 
of the gentle western slopes of the Sierras, and finally the 
heaven-aspiring summits. The change from both directions 
is at the same place, Truckee, and here the cars of the Lake 
Tahoe Railway & Transportation Company are taken, and 
for an hour one rides enchanted by the side of the pictur- 
esque Truckee River, whose course is the only outlet pos- 
sessed by Lake Tahoe, though a hundred streams and springs 
empty into it, and whose waters now flow placidly and 
smoothly through open meadows and anon dash wildly 
through lava-lined canyons and over rocky boulder beds 
which churn them into whitest foam. Automobiles have 
even more wonderfully varied scenery. Coming from the 
east they enter a land of enchantment, after leaving the 



252 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

sagebrush plains, for the ride from Reno — and there are 
three separate and distinct routes that may be taken — all 
lead through tree-clad mountain slopes on well engineered 
and cared for roads. From San Francisco the course to 
Sacramento is the same, then the roads fork and two routes 
are open, one by way of Placerville and the other by Emi- 
grant Gap and Donner Lake. Both are historic roads, hal- 
lowed by sacred associations of hardy pioneers, and later by 
eager gold-seekers coming to California or leaving for the 
newer developed fields of the Comstock at Virginia City, 
and both are picturesque and sublime, as all roads over the 
Sierran barrier must be. The State of California sees to it, 
however, that the roads are as good as they can be made 
and the separate counties keep them in condition. There 
are two other roads for those who wish to come up by motor 
from the south — Los Angeles and San Diego. One route 
is through the fertile San Joaquin Valley to Sacramento 
(with, by the way, an additional choice of a road up the 
Pacific Coast, by Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and 
Monterey), while the other is over the Walker Pass, at the 
southern end of the Sierra Nevadas, and up on the eastern 
side of this Range of Light, where snow-clad peaks that 
equal the Alps seem to be directly overhead. 

(7) This brief and scant description of the various ap- 
proaches renders the seventh point merely to be mentioned; 
viz., ease of access. Few places, even in populous Europe, 
can be reached so easily, quickly, and cheaply as can Lake 
Tahoe. 

(8) There now remains but one point to elucidate, and 
that is one which few understand. Yet it is important in 
the extreme to one class, perhaps several classes of visitors. 



LAKE OF THE SKY— LAKE TAHOE 253 

That is, the climatic Jiospitality of the Tahoe region. It 
never fails, winter or summer, to extend the hands of warm 
and kindly hospitality. Not that there are no storms in the 
Tahoe region in winter. There are many, and sometimes 
they are very severe, where the wind blows and snow falls 
heavily. But storms come and go, and never last long, and 
when they have gone, ah, who can tell the sweet purity of 
expanse they leave behind them, the sense of heavenly clean- 
liness that mortals seldom feel, as well as the indications of 
power and supremacy they reveal ! In the spring, summer, 
and autumn, however, there are practically few storms. 
Then the whole Sierras seem to smile hearty welcome to 
visitors. They bid them enter and possess the land. To 
camp out in such mountains is inexpressible delight. 

No mosquitoes to speak of, no dangerous reptiles or ani- 
mals, no poisonous plants or vines, no pitfalls, no hostile 
Indians, few disadvantages of any kind, but, on the other 
hand, abundance of shade, crystal water, lakes abounding 
in fish, trees alive with game birds, forests where roam 
innumerable deer and other game. Fine trails have been 
engineered and built to every salient point, and obscure 
nooks of divine beauty opened up for man's delectation. 
The lakes have all been stocked with trout and here a man 
may loaf and invite his soul to his everlasting content and 
benefit, and a woman may learn afresh that life may be a 
perpetual joy instead of a maddening round of insanity- 
absorbing functions. 

Here, then, in brief outline, I have suggested why Tahoe 
is incomparable. A few more touches must suffice for this 
necessarily imperfect and inadequate picture. To provide 
for the needs of the thousands of people who annually visit 



254 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

the Talioe region a number of hotels and camps have grown 
up. First among these is Tahoe Tavern, on the edge of the 
Lake, and the terminus of the Lake Tahoe Railway. Built 
in a style appropriate to its forest and lake surroundings, 
equipped so as to satisfy the needs of the most exacting and 
experienced traveler, its management may be characterized 
as ideal. Here, also, are golf links, tennis courts, as well 
as the finely equipped Casino, where ballroom, bowling 
alley, and the score and one other indoor games of popular 
fancy are provided. In addition, the Tavern owns its fleet 
of fine power launches, fishing boats, etc., with capacities 
from 200 down, so that parties can be formed for riding on 
the lake, fishing, etc. Yet while the Tavern is first-class in 
every respect it anticipates and expects that many of its 
patrons come to the Lake for a surcease from social exac- 
tions, hence one enters the dining-room or lounging-room 
as freely and as welcome in a riding suit or golfing costume 
as if clothed de rigueur. 

In the other hotels and camps of the region every variety 
of taste is provided for, and demands upon the purse vary 
in like degree. 

During the season steamers ply around the Lake, seventy 
miles, one working down the western side, southward, and 
around by the eastern Nevada side, to the north, and back 
to the Tavern, and the other in the reverse direction, so that 
ready and easy access is afforded to every portion of the 
Lake. 

There are a score or two of mountain peaks, ranging in 
elevation above sea-level from eight to twelve thousand 
feet, within easy walking or riding distance of the hotels 
and camps. The level of the Lake itself is over 6.000 feet. 




Coiiilcsy of H. C. Tibbitts 

CAVE ROCK, LAKE TAHOE 




LOOKING NORTH FROM CAVE ROCK 

LAKE TAHOE 



U'jijiiwiitii"." ^A. f 




RUBICON POINT 



LAKE TAHOE 



LAKE OF THE SKY— LAKE TAHOE 255 

as before noted, so that one starts his climb at a high aki- 
tude. Finely engineered trails have been built to afford 
comparatively easy access to all these peaks, and the city 
dweller here becomes the Sierran climber to his great phy- 
sical and mental advantage. Trees in glorious variety and 
profusion, wild flowers in such a bewilderment of proces- 
sion as to dazzle one unused to the prolific exuberance of 
Nature on the Pacific Coast, and birds galore add joy to 
the outings, and the fact that the Lake is seldom long out 
of sight gives added enjoyment, for its delights are ever 
changing and each new change seems to make it more 
entrancingly beautiful. 

Then, too, to render its charms more easy of daily and 
hourly access, the State Highway Commission of California 
two years ago completed a fine highway for automobiles 
reaching from the Tavern at the north end of the Lake to 
Tallac House at the south end. This, with roads already 
built, practically afford one the opportunity for a ride 
around about two-thirds of the Lake's circumference, and 
every mile of it is a mile of enchantment. Hence motor 
cars come daily, during the season, by the scores, even the 
hundreds, and the Tavern's large accommodations are taxed 
to the limit. Therefore it will be seen that the Tahoe region 
is not only worthy to be ranked as one of America's won- 
derlands, and already is beginning to enjoy the fame that 
belongs to it, but that each year will see it more widel}^ 
heralded around the world. 

And yet, in my necessarily brief description of Tahoe, 1 
have said nothing as yet of its chief charm to many visitors, 
namely, the gloriously exquisite colors of its waters. Here 
is what Mark Twain said about the Lake : 



256 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

At last the Lake burst upon us — a noble sheet of blue water 
lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the 
sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that 
towered aloft full three thousand feet higher still ! It was a 
vast oval, and one would have to use up eighty or a hundred 
good miles in traveling around it. As it lay there with the 
shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its 
still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the 
whole earth affords. 

After supper, as the darkness closed down and the stars came 
out and spangled the great mirror with jewels, we smoked 
meditatively in the solemn hush and forgot our troubles and 
our pains. In due time we spread our blankets in the warm 
sand between two large boulders and soon fell asleep. * * * 

It is always very cold on that lake shore in the night, but 
we had plenty of blankets and were warm enough. We never 
moved a muscle all night, but waked at early dawn in the orig- 
inal positions, and got up at once thoroughly refreshed, free 
from soreness, and brim full of friskiness. There is no end of 
wholesome medicine in such an experience. That morning we 
could have whipped ten such people as we were the day before 
■ — sick ones, at any rate. But the world is slow, and people 
will go to " water cures " and " movement cures " and to for- 
eign lands for health. Three months of camp life on Lake 
Tahoe would restore an Egyptian mummy to his pristine vigor, 
and give him an appetite like an alligator. I do not mean the 
oldest and driest mummies, of course, but the fresher ones. 
The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing 
and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? It is the same the 
angels breathe. I think that hardly any amount of fatigue can 
be gathered together that a man cannot sleep off in one night 
on the sand by its side. Not under a roof, but under the sky; 
it seldom or never rains there in the summer time.* 

To return to the colors of Lake Tahoe, Emerald Bay and 

Meek's Bay are justly world-famed for their triumphs of 

color glories, for here there seem to be those peculiar com- 

* Roughing It, by Mark Twain. By kind permission of Harper & 
Bros., New York. 



LAKE OF THE SKY— LAKE TAHOE 257 

binations of varied objects and depths, from the shahowest 
to the deepest, with the variations of colored sands and 
rocks on the bottom, as well as queer-shaped and colored 
boulders lying on the vari-colored sands, that are not found 
elsewhere. The waving of the water gives a mottled effect 
surpassing the most delicate and richly-shaded marbles and 
onyxes. Watered-silks of the most perfect manufacture 
are but childish and juvenile attempts at reproduction, and 
finest Turkish shawls, Bokhara rugs, or Arab sheiks' dearest 
prized Prayer Carpets are but glimmering suggestions of 
what the Master Artist Himself has here produced. 

These are not the glowing colors of sunrises and sunsets, 
but they are equally sublime, awe-inspiring, and enchanting. 
There are Alpine-glows and peach-blooms and opalescent fire- 
gleams and subtle suggestions that thrill moment by moment 
and disappear as soon as seen, only to be followed by equally 
beautiful and surprising effects, and with it all a mobility, a 
fluidity, a rippling, flowing, waving, tossing series of effects 
that belong only to enchanted water — water kissed into 
glory by the sun and moon, lured into softest beauty by 
the glamour of the stars, and etherealized by the cjuiet and 
subtle charms of the Milky Way, and of the suns, comets, 
and meteors that the eye of man has never gazed upon. . . . 

The blue alone is enough to impress it forever upon the 
observant mind. Its rich, deep, perfect splendor is a con- 
stant surprise. One steps from his hotel, not thinking of 
the Lake — the blue of it rises through the trees, over the 
rocks, everywhere, with startling vividness. Surely never 
before was so large and wonderful a lake of inky blue, 
sapphire blue, ultramarine, amethystine richness spread out 
for man's enjoyment. And while the summer months show 



258 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

this in all its smooth placidity and quietude, there seems to 
be a deeper blue, a richer shade take possession of the waves 
in the fall, or when its smoothness is rudely dispelled by 
the storms of winter and spring. 

The great scientist — the John Tyndall of the Pacific 
Coast — John Le Conte, at one time President of the State 
University of California, thus expressed himself : 

When quietly floating upon the placid surface of Lake Tahoe, 
the largest of the "Gems of the Sierra" — nestled, as it is, 
amidst a huge amphitheater of mountain peaks — it is difficult 
to say whether we are more powerfully impressed with the 
genuine child-like awe and wonder inspired by the contempla- 
tion of the noble grandeur of nature, or with the calmer and 
more gentle sense of the beautiful produced by the less impos- 
ing aspects of the surrounding scenery. On the one hand, crag 
and beetling cliff sweeping in rugged and colossal massiveness 
above dark waves of pine and fir, far into the keen and clear 
blue air; the huge mantle of snow, so cumulus-like in its 
brightness, thrown in many a solid fold over ice-sculptured 
crest and shoulders ; the dark cathedral-like spires and splin- 
tered pinnacles, half snow, half stone, rising into the sky like 
the very pillars of heaven. On the other hand the waving ver- 
dure of the valleys below, the dash of waterfalls, the plenteous 
gush of springs, the laugh and dance of brook and rivulet 
as they hurry down the plains. Add to this picture the deep 
repose of the azure water, on which are mirrored snow-clad 
peaks, as well as marginal fringes of waving forests and green 
meadows, and it is difficult to decide whether the sense of gran- 
deur or of beauty has obtained the mastery of the soul.* 

Folders containing full information of Lake Tahoe may 
be obtained free by addressing the Advertising Department 
of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, San Francisco, 
or the Lake Tahoe Railway & Transportation Company, 
Rialto Building, San Francisco. 

* Quoted in The Lake of the Sky, by George Wharton James. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIFORNIA 

WHEN Cabrillo sailed up the western coast in 1542, 
and thus became the man we remember as the first 
white ever to gaze upon California and make its wonders 
known to the world, he little dreamed that he was destined 
to leave his bones to bleach on the wind and sun-swept sand- 
dunes of one of the islands that he was the first to see. 
There are about twenty of these, most of them visible on a 
clear day from Santa Barbara, and two or three from Mt 
Lowe, Pasadena, or Los Angeles harbor at San Pedro. 
The best known and oftenest visited is Santa Catalina, 
named by my learned and poetic friend, Charles Frederick 
Holder, "the Island of Summer." And surely it is an 
island of summer. Laved forever in the warm waters that 
flow up thus far from the South Pacific Ocean, its north 
side is a place sheltered from the winds where no surf or 
beating waves ever dash angrily over its sandy beaches and 
pebbly strands, and the climate from October to May seldom 
demands an overcoat. In December violets and roses, bou- 
gainvillea and Easter lilies, poinsettias and cannae; aye, 
and even the delicate heliotrope are in full bloom, and 
one sits on the lawn reading the newspaper in his shirt 
sleeves. 

Steamers ply back and forth constantly, winter and 
summer alike, carrying thousands of visitors and hun- 

259 



260 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

dreds of regular residents, for the town of Avalon has a 
steady population of several thousands, which is constantly 
increasing. 

While Santa Catalina and some of the other islands are 
privately owned, others belong to the government, and the 
largest of these, San Clemente, which has the reputation of 
possessing the most remarkable sea-angling in the world, is 
practically a national fish and game preserve. 

The scientists assure us that these islands were once a 
portion of the mainland, or, no, perhaps it would be nearer 
the truth to say that they tried to become so. When the 
uplift from the primeval ocean took place that raised the 
coast of California out of the ooze of sea-bottom and made 
it into mountain and valley, these island areas struggled up 
so far, and then stopped, having merely succeeded in raising 
their heads above the drowning point. Some came up 
higher than others, and these form the important islands of 
today, San Clemente, Santa Catalina, Santa Cruz, Santa 
Rosa, and San Miguel. They are all Sans or Santas (saints, 
male or female) because, when, sixty years after Cabrillo, 
Sebastian Vizcaino came, he named them all (ignoring the 
names given by their real discoverer) after the Saint's Day 
on which he first saw them. 

In those days they had quite an Indian population, but it 
has since disappeared, though relic hunters every now and 
again dig up utensils and implements that clearly indicate 
both large regular population and incidental visitation. 
Hence the Indians must have been boat-builders of some 
kind and fairly familiar with the simple navigation of the 
waters between the islands and the mainland. They were 
great traders, too, for the soapstone mortars from the 




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CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIF0RNL4 261 

quarry on Santa Catalina Island are found scattered all up 
and down the coast. 

The quarry itself is still there — as the Indians left it — 
with great mortars half quarried out of the sloping face of 
the cliff, looking like some new kind of geologic conglom- 
erate, formed of Indian mortars, pestles, and other utensils, 
and powdered up, slippery rock, all stuck together, with 
some of the bigger ingredients sticking out of the general 
mass. 

Graves, too, have been found, with bones and skulls, 
together with stone sinkers, obsidian arrow and spear 
points, bone whistles, flutes made beautiful with pearl 
mosaic, stuck on with asphaltum, strings of bead necklaces, 
etc. Tons of these interesting aboriginal remains have been 
dug up, and they now adorn the Smithsonian Institution and 
the museums of the world. 

But the Channel Islands are peculiarly interesting as one 
of the chief playgrounds of the world of fishermen. The 
angler finds here his paradise. Anyone who has seen the 
hosts of leaping tuna, long-finned tuna, yellowfin, white 
sea bass, leaping swordfish, yellowtail, monster June, sun- 
fish, and other fish, gathered in as I have seen them at 
Catalina, does not need to be told that here is one of the 
rare spots of the world for the fisherman. It makes no dif- 
ference where the angler comes from, and what his catch. 
He can spin his biggest yarns, and risk his salvation never 
so freely — it is all waste time and useless endeavor at 
Catalina. The merest tyro laughs at him and caps his 
stories with others so outrageously wonderful that belief 
at first seems impossible. Yet on being challenged by even 
so much as the lifting of an eyebrow, the challenger is 



262 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

squelched utterly by having a photograph of the catch, with 
size, weight, and time occupied in landing, size of rod and 
thickness of line, sworn to and certified by witnesses and a 
notary. Oh, they do things in famous style at Catalina, and 
there is no gainsaying them. For instance, Dr. Holder 
deliberately tells, in cold blood, of catching a leaping tuna, 
with a twenty-one line — whatever that is — the fish being 
six feet four inches in length and weighing 183 pounds, and 
was " the embodiment of what is best in the tribe of tuna, 
the hardest fighting game fish known, rich in reserve and 
force, prolific in expedient, and invested with an inexhausti- 
ble supply of that something which, translated, means 
* dying game.' " And the record of the Tuna Club for 1909 
shows sixty-five tuna caught, of which sixty-two weighed 
over 100 pounds, the largest being 153 pounds, the smallest 
sixty-eight pounds, and the average totaling 118.2 pounds. 
The record tuna ever caught was that of Colonel C. P. 
Morehouse, of Pasadena, in the season of 1900, and it 
weighed 251 pounds. The following year a lady, Mrs. E. L. 
Dickerson, of New York City, held the record with one of 
216 pounds. As for black bass the records are as follows: 
1898, 327 pounds; 1899, 372 pounds; 1900, 384 pounds; 
1 90 1, 384 pounds; 1902, 419 pounds; 1903, 425 pounds; 
1905, 436 pounds; and yellowtail have been caught up to 
forty-eight pounds ; white sea bass, sixty pounds ; albacore, 
forty-one and three-quarters pounds; and swordfish, 125 
pounds. 

The Tuna Club was organized to shame out, force out, 
drive out — anything legitimate to get rid of the scoundrel 
— the game hog, the killer for killing's sake, who thought 
of nothing but the slaughter he could accomplish. It was 



CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIFORNIA 263 

organized in 1878 by Dr. Holder. Up to that time "boats 
left Avalon Bay with from four to ten heavy hand-lines, and 
tunas and yellowtail and sea bass were slaughtered by the 
ton and throzvn away." To reform and prevent this state 
of affairs was the object of the club; to give the fish a 
fighting chance; to elevate the standard of sport on the 
Pacific Coast, either in fresh or salt water ; to protect game 
fish in every way; and to set an example of the highest 
possible sportsmanship. The result is that, today, not a 
boatman of Santa Catalina will permit a hand-line in his 
boat, and any unsportsmanlike conduct is not only frowned 
upon but absolutely forbidden. To encourage the boatmen 
in well doing prizes are given to them, as well as to the 
sportsmen who engage them. 

Every year tournaments are held and noted anglers from 
all quarters of the globe come to them. The quality of the 
fish caught may be learned from a glance at the of^cial rec- 
ords — and the following unofficial story. The Tuna Club 
has a beautiful and commodious clubhouse. Its porch over- 
looks the placid Pacific, the home of the fish that are so 
eagerly sought. Seated on this porch, in the restful con- 
tent that comes over a man after a successful day's sport, 
followed by a satisfactory dinner, anglers are apt to become 
reminiscent and tell of their most remarkable achievements. 
At one of the tournaments two noted New Yorkers were 
present, as guests of the club. They were "jolly good fel- 
lows," hence were quickly initiated into the good fellowship 
section of the club, privately named the Porch Club. One 
evening one of the members began to "reminisce"; others 
followed, the fish in each case growing larger, until the 
Easterner's eyes grew like poached eggs, so that one might 



264 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

have hung his hat on them. At last, after several partic- 
ularly large fish had been landed — in the stories — one 
visitor could not refrain from the comment : " But, my 
dear sir, those must have been whales you were catching." 
"Whales?" responded the narrator, "Whales? Why, we 
were using whales for bait!" 

While I regret it, I must leave the subject right here. 
That the angler, as well as general sightseers, will enjoy 
Santa Catalina, and the others of the Channel Islands, I 
can guarantee — at least as positively as the fisherman can 
his use of whale as bait. While Santa Catalina is the only 
island popularly, easily, and cheaply accessible, all the others 
may be visited by those who care to rough it, or who can 
charter special launches. The yachting of the Channel is 
excellent, and as the years go by the fame of the region as 
the greatest fishing ground in the world for the sportsman 
will increase. 

An excellent and thoroughly satisfactory book, beauti- 
fully illustrated, upon this subject, is The Channel Islands, 
by Charles Frederick Holder, published by A. C. McClurg & 
Co., Chicago, and details of trips to Santa Catalina may be 
had from the Pacific Electric Co., or The Banning Co., 
Los Angeles, California. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
THE NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA 

ONE of the thrilling remembrances of my younger life 
is of hearing an oration by John B. Gough, the great 
temperance advocate, who told a story of a young man who 
was determined to carve his name higher than that of any- 
one else on the walls of the Natural Bridge of Virginia. 
How my heart beat faster and faster, and my pulses 
throbbed harder and harder as the youth cut his way step 
by step, higher, when he found it impossible to retrace his 
steps downwards. He must climb or fall and be dashed to 
pieces beneath. As he came nearer to the top, under the 
spell of the orator's vivid word picture, my own heart 
almost ceased to beat as I felt the strain upon fingers, 
hands, wrists, shoulders, back, indeed the whole physical 
frame and its internal organs. The knife blade was nearly 
worn away, the climber's strength almost gone. He could 
not, must not, fail now, and in an agony of suspense and 
yet of wild helpfulness of desire, I lifted him up in my own 
spirit to the place of safety, which, at last, thank God! the 
orator described. 

From that day to this the Natural Bridge of Virginia has 
had a great claim upon my imagination. And I am free to 
confess that when I saw it I was thrilled and delighted — ■ 
more, pei"haps, with the memories it echoed than with its 
own inherent majesty. For I had rambled, in the mean- 

265 



266 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

time, through the Yosemite Valley, over the High Sierras, 
the Rockies, the Alps, the Apennines, the Presidential 
Range; I had explored scores of miles of the Grand Canyon 
and its tributaries, and had seen the great bridges of Ari- 
zona and the Land of the Standing Rocks, the Monument 
Parks, the Towers of the Rio Virgen and a score and one 
places of rare majesty and sublimity in the west. True, I 
had not yet seen the stupendous and colossal bridges of 
Southern Utah, described in Chapter xviii, but I had been 
so saturated with the majestic, the vast, the sublime, the 
tremendous, that, in comparison, the Natural Bridge of 
Virginia was but a small feature compared with those with 
which I had lived off and on for a couple of decades or 
more. 

This world- famed bridge overlooks the James River 
Valley, being on the western slope of the Blue Ridge Moun- 
tains, and near the center of the state, in Rockbridge Coun- 
ty, which is in the southern part of the well-known Shenan- 
doah \^alley. One of the first extensive accounts of it was 
Porte Crayon's Virginia Illustrated, which appeared In 
Harper's Magazine for August, 1855. In this he gives a 
description of the bridge, which he visited with his cousins. 
They had driven the seventeen or eighteen miles from Lex- 
ington and were at the Bridge Hotel. One of his lady 
cousins asked to be taken to see the bridge. Here let me 
have him tell his own story : 

Porte Crayon sat at one of the windows, to all appearance 
oblivious of the present. . . . Had he been less abstracted and 
more considerate, he must have observed the fluttering restless 
demeanor of his more youthful companions, for cold indeed 
must be that fancy, and impassive that soul, that can approach 
this far-famed wonder without emotion. 




Courtesy of V. S. Grological Surixy 

THE NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA 



NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA 267 

" Cousin, is the bridge near at hand ? " 

Porte started up apologizing for his forgetfulness, and inti- 
mated to the ladies that if they would walk with him a short 
distance they might have a distant glimpse of the bridge with- 
out delay. Starting from the tavern door, they followed the 
public road by a gentle ascent for sixty or eighty paces, when 
they came to a gate. Here Crayon entered, and taking Minnie 
by the arm, he pushed aside the branches of an arbor vitse, 
and led her forward several paces until they reached a sort of 
rocky barrier. 

" Look down, Cousin ! " 

She shrieked, and would have fallen but for the support of 
her companion, who hastily withdrew her from the spot, and 
seated her, all pale and trembling, under the shade of an ever- 
green. 

" What's the matter ? What is it ? " inquired the others, 
with alarmed eagerness. 

" Oh, Porte, how could you do it ! The bridge ! The bridge ! 
We're on the bridge ! It was terrible ! " 

On hearing this Fanny and Dora looked wildly about, as if 
seeking some place of refuge, and finally fled through the gate 
by which they had entered, and only halted when they had 
gained the middle of the highway. 

" Come back, you silly creatures 1 " 

" No, no, not for the world ! We would not go on it again." 

" Don't you know that you are on it now ? " 

Dora would have taken to her heels again, but Fanny stopped 
her. " Don't mind Porte's quizzing," said she. " Don't you 
see that we are in the public road, and not on any bridge ? " 

Porte succeeded in capturing the runaways, and holding them 
securely before he gave the information, explained to them 
that they then stood over the center of the arch, and yet so en- 
tirely hidden was the chasm which it spanned, by the natural 
parapet of rocks and trees, that he had himself seen persons 
pass over without being aware of it. Then, by dint of fair 
promises, he induced his captives to return to the point of view. 

He then led the ladies, one at a time, to the parapet, where, 
on their hands and knees they ventured to look over the brink 
into that awful chasm, which few have nerve sufficient to view 



268 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

from an upright position. Fanny attempted it, holding to her 
brother's arm, but found she could endure it only for a mo- 
ment, when her dizzy brain and trembling knees warned her to 
desist. Crayon looked long and earnestly into the abyss, 
bounded by dark impending cliffs of jagged limestone, fes- 
tooned with rich wreaths of arbor vitae, the most beautiful of 
all the tribe of evergreens. 

And thus have hundreds of thousands of entranced visi- 
tors felt, when they, too, gazed upon this historic bridge. 
Its associations alone are enough to make it interesting, for 
King George iii granted the original bridge tract to Thomas 
Jefferson, in 1774, little dreaming, doubtless, of the part 
the great statesman was to play in the future revolution of 
his country. After Jefferson became president, he visited 
the Bridge, surveyed it, and made a map of it and its sur- 
roundings, with his own hands. The next year he returned, 
bringing tw^o slaves, Patrick Henry and wife. For them 
he built a log cabin. There were two rooms in the structure. 
He directed that one of these be kept open for the entertain- 
ment of strangers. He wrote of it as yet to be " a famous 
place, that will draw the attention of the world." 

George Washington, when a surveyor for Lord Fairfax, 
visited it, and carved his name upon it, where it may still 
be seen. 

During the Revolution, the French organized two expedi- 
tions to visit it. They measured it and made diagrams of 
it, and from these an engraving was made in Paris, which 
for nearly half a century was copied both in Europe and 
America. 

Many of the most noted men of America and Europe 
have visited it, and Marshall called it " God's greatest 
miracle in stone." Henry Clay wrote of it as "the bridge 



NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA 269 

not made with hands, that spans a river, carries a highway, 
and makes two mountains one." 

There are several good views that ought to be obtained. 
One has already been referred to : that of the chasm from 
the top of the bridge itself. Then from the level of Cedar 
Creek the whole span may be witnessed without any of the 
dizzying sensation that many people feel on looking down 
into a chasm. Following a winding road that descends with 
rapidity around the point of a small hill, and passing through 
a grove of trees, one reaches a point above Cedar Creek in 
the heart of the gorge. It is a wild and rugged spot, the 
creek noisily running over the rocks in its course, the nar- 
row passageway rendering the shadows blacker and the noise 
more intense. Now looking back, one sees the bridge in all 
its beauty. Porte Crayon's description is a good one, and 
well worthy of preservation. Here it is : 

Above, with its outline of tree and rock cutting sharp against 
the blue sky, rose the eternal arch, so massive, yet so light, 
its spring uniting its tremendous buttresses high in mid-air, 
while beneath its stern shadow the eye can mark, in fair per- 
spective, rocks, trees, hill-tops, and distant sailing clouds. 
There are few objects in nature which so entirely fill the soul 
as this bridge in its unique and simple grandeur. In considera- 
tion of the perfection of its adaptation to circumstances, the 
simplicity of its design, the sublimity of its proportions, the 
spectator experiences a fullness of satisfaction which famil- 
iarity only serves to increase ; and while that sentiment of awe 
inseparable from the first impression may be weakened or dis- 
appear altogether, wonder and admiration grow with time. 

Continuing the descent we reach the banks of the stream, 
and pass beneath the arch, pausing at every step to feast the 
eyes upon the varying aspect in which the same is presented. 
Crossing Cedar Creek under the bridge, we gain a point above 
on the stream, from whence the view is equally fine with that 



270 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

first obtained from the descending path on the opposite side. 
This picture exhibits the turn of the arch to greater advantage. 
Then the flanking row of embattled clififs, their sides wreathed 
with dark foHage and their bases washed by the stream, form 
a noble addition to the scene. 

The average height of these clififs is about two hundred and 
fifty feet, the height of the bridge about two hundred and 
twenty. The span of the arch is ninety-three feet, its average 
width eighty, and its thickness in the center fifty-five feet. It 
does not cross the chasm precisely at right angles, but in oblique 
direction like what engineers call a skew bridge. While the 
clififs are perpendicular and in some places overhanging, the 
abutments under the arch approach until their bases are not 
more than fifty feet apart. At ordinary times the stream 
does not occupy more than half this space, although from its 
traces and water-marks it frequently sweeps through in an un- 
broken volume, extending from rock to rock. The top of the 
bridge is covered with a clay soil to the depth of several feet, 
which nourishes a considerable growth of trees, generally of 
the evergreen species. These, with masses of rock, serve to 
form natural parapets along the sides, as if for greater se- 
curity, and entirely obscure the view of the chasm from the 
passer.* 

A fine view, which sets off the bridge in better propor- 
tions than the closer views, is to be obtained from a hillside 
about half a mile below. The arch here seems to be more 
perfect, and one sees its relation to the hill, which, a short 
distance to the right of its apex, is cleft to its base by the 
chasm spanned by the bridge. 

Travelers crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or 
going from North to South, or vice versa, may easily visit 
the Natural Bridge. It has its own station, conjointly 
owned by the Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western 
Railways. The drive of three miles between the Bridge 

*Harper's Magazine, August, iSss, P- 3o6- 



NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA 271 

and the station is over a well-kept automobile highway, and 
Thomas Jefferson's one-room of the log house has given 
place to a thoroughly modern and well-equipped, well- 
managed hotel, where one may spend a day or a month in 
visiting the historic scenes in the immediate vicinity. 



CHAPTER XXX 
THE MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY 

FOR over a century the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky 
has been regarded as one of the natural wonders of 
the world that bears comparison with Niagara Falls, the 
Grand Canyon, and the Yosemite Valley. Were it all open 
to the light of day, and free from the mystery of its under- 
ground condition it would cease to be as marvelous as it 
is, only because its mysteries and wonders were lighted 
up by the sun. To me it is simply a portion of the Grand 
Canyon region under ground. Almost all its phenomena 
are revealed in the Grand Canyon region, and given 
time enough, it is not inconceivable that the Mammoth 
Cave might develop into a Grand Canyon region of its 
own. 

The geological conditions of this portion of Kentucky 
must be at least partially understood before one can com- 
prehend the methods by which the Mammoth Cave was 
formed. And it should here be noted that this is but one 
of over five hundred known caves in Edmonson County 
alone. 

After the deposition in the primeval ocean of the lime- 
stone rock (in which these caves are found) and its cov- 
ering of what is now called the Chester Sandstone, the 
whole area, covering over eight thousand square miles was 
slowly uplifted by the contracting forces of the earth, to 

272 



MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY 273 

above the surface of the ocean. The uplift was fairly even 
and regular, though here and there cracks and fissures 
doubtless were made, and as the surface appeared higher 
and higher a certain amount of erosion took place. When 
the uplift ceased and the reasonably stable equilibrium of 
the country had been established the forces that made the 
caverns were able to work with persistency and continuity. 
As the rain fell it absorbed some of the gases of the atmos- 
phere and these chemical elements cut into the rocks, ate 
them away, and thus gave the flowing waters the sand, in 
solution or suspension, to carry away. This added to the 
carving or cutting powers of the streams that would soon 
be formed, and, where crevices had been formed by the 
cracking of the strata during their period of uplift, the 
streams found a ready course down and into which they 
eagerly poured. Hence two disintegrating forces were let 
loose upon the limestone rock in which the caverns are 
found : the dissolving power of the acids in the water, and 
the erosive or cutting powers of the sand-charged streams. 
Some parts of the limestone were less resistant than others. 
These were soonest eaten away, and as the years, the cen- 
turies passed, underground passages were formed into which 
the rain and flood waters poured from above, thus adding to 
the cavern-making processes. 

These streams wound around, to and fro, and had their 
network of communicating channels in every direction. Of 
course, they burrowed deeper and deeper, and thus made 
underground river passage-ways of different levels. Hence 
we find today, in the Mammoth Cave, five different levels, 
on the lowest one of which the Echo River flows in silent, 
solemn majesty in a darkness as complete as was the world, 



274 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

before " the fiat went forth from heaven : Let there be 
light!" 

The resnhs of this underground cutting and carving 
away of the strata was uhimately evident in the caving-in 
of the surface. This made the surface of the cave region a 
land of sink-holes, of hills and hollows, of depressions into 
which the rain and melted snow, etc., emptied, draining the 
land and leaving few or no exterior streams or rivers. This 
is the actual condition of Edmonson County today, the only 
stream of any importance being Green River, which flows 
pretty deep down through canyon walls of its own carving. 

The Mammoth Cave is said to have been discovered over 
a century ago, by a hunter named Hutchings. He had 
wounded a bear, and in following it to its lair, the vastness 
of the cave was revealed to him. 

Be this as it may the cave region had gained such a repu- 
tation as early as 1806 that Dr. Samuel Brown, of Lexing- 
ton, made a horseback journey of a thousand miles in 
order to study it and make a report upon it to the American 
Philosophical Society, of Philadelphia. ^ He had heard that 
great deposits of nitrate of potash were found in caves of 
this county. This, it will be recalled, is one of the chief 
ingredients in the making of gunpowder. He found the 
reports correct and assured the learned society that these 
deposits would be of the utmost value to this country in 
case it had to go to war with any foreign nation. 

In 181 1 the Mammoth Cave was purchased by a Mr. 
McLean, together with two hundred acres of land for the 
munificent sum of forty dollars. It was soon sold, how- 
ever, for a keen patriot (?) secured it in order that he might 
supply the U. S. Government with the nitrates found therein. 



MAMMOTH CAFE OF KENTUCKY 275 

for the making of gunpowder used in the war with the 
British in 1812. He made a fortune by his patriotism. 

It was not until 1839, however, that the Mammoth Cave 
was purchased with the idea of making it a scenic resort. 
From that day to this it has had an increasing popularity. 

On reaching Glasgow Junction, a station on the main line 
of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the quaint-looking 
cars and engine of the Mammoth Cave Railroad soon trans- 
port us to the hotel, some ten miles away. The scenery is 
rugged and picturesque, rich in varied verdure, and we are 
prepared before-hand for the charm of setting of the hotel 
and the entrance to the Cave before we arrive. The hotel 
itself is an old-fashioned, primitive aggregation of build- 
ings, from the cottages and log-house built by the miners 
of the nitrates in early days to a modern recently built log- 
house annex, equipped with porcelain bath-tubs and other 
modern appliances. The spirit of hospitality pervades the 
place, and with this we find ourselves richly content. 

The very evening of our arrival, after supper, a party 
was made up to take one of the trips. There are so many 
ramifications of the Cave that four separate trips are ar- 
ranged, varying in length and the exertion required, to 
suit the many needs of the many and varied visitors. I 
shall not attempt here any elaborate description of each 
trip, but endeavor to give the reader a clear conception of 
the Cave as a whole. 

The first impression, as one descends the stone steps into 
the great arched opening, is of darkness and mystery. But 
the oil lamps we carry in our hands are a remedy for the 
former, and the latter we know has been overcome by the 
hundreds of thousands of visitors, that have rambled through 



276 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

these underground passages and halls during the past cen- 
tury, so we pluck up courage and press forward. 

Some of the earliest objects of interest are those con- 
nected with the leaching out of the nitrates — or salt-peter 
as it is locally called — found in the earth deposits. There 
are large wooden pipes, — trees augured out — telescoped 
together, one for leading the water in from the outside, the 
other for pumping the nitrate-charged water to the outside. 
There are also several leaching vats, into which the earth 
was thrown, water poured over it, and as it absorbed the 
nitrates it flowed into a reservoir beneath from which 
it was pumped to the outside, there to have the water 
extracted, and to be shipped for the making of gun- 
powder, to the peaceable and Quaker-dwelling city of 
Philadelphia. 

At first the Cave seems to consist of great passageways, 
varying considerably in width, opening into vast halls or 
chambers, so high and wide that it requires the burning of 
magnesium lights to penetrate their mysterious shades. In 
some of the chambers are galleries, proving that the water 
that carved out the Cave wore away one level before it 
descended to the next. 

As far as the large chambers are concerned, however, the 
chief interest centers in those which are today in the active 
processes of creation. Where water still seeps in from the 
surface, charged with carbonic acid gas found in the atmos- 
phere, and other chemical agents, it is still eating its way 
into the solid limestone, as well as wearing away the rock 
with its never-ceasing, though silent, flow, or monotonous 
and perpetual drip. Here, sometimes, the passageway upon 
which one is traveling leads one to the very edge of a deep, 



MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY 277 

black and forbidding pit, from which the drip, drip, of 
water can be heard. Our flickering lamps fail to reveal the 
depths of the pit, nor, when our guide bids us look up, can 
we see the crown of the wonderful dome that overhangs it. 
Here are the primitive forces of world-sculpture at work. 
Secretly, hidden, in the perpetual gloom and never-ceasing 
darkness the carving, chiseling and beveling go on. And 
strange to say, though there seems to be no plan as to what 
effect shall be produced, no harmony of design as in the 
works of man, there is a decided harmoniousness of general 
effect that strikes all who observe. The flowing of the 
water down the walls gives us groovings and carvings as 
rare and unique as were ever conceived, and though they 
suggest, somewhat, the work of the builders of the Gothic 
cathedrals, there is a rude originality and individuality 
about it all that differentiates from anything that man has 
done. 

Some of these domes — and there are many of them in 
the Mammoth Cave — are stupendous in their vast extent, 
and awesome when they overarch deep black pits which the 
eye cannot penetrate. 

Another striking feature of the Mammoth Cave is the 
great number of stalactites and stalagmites found. These, 
as it is well known, are formed by the slow dripping of lime- 
charged water, which solidifies a minute particle at a time 
as it passes along. Centuries after centuries these stony 
icicles of the caves grow underground, extending their 
length earthwards, while, if the flow of the water be too 
great, the eternal drip, drip, begins to build up a mound 
from the floor upwards. And this, age after age, the one 
striving upwards, the other yearning downwards, like man's 



278 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

passion and God's blessing, ultimately meet, and stalactite 
and stalagmite become one, in a wonderful formation of 
solid and eternal stone. 

There are many of these limestone growths in the Mam- 
moth Cave, of peculiar and distinctive forms. Chief among 
these are the Bridal Altar, where three standing pillars sug- 
gest the bride and groom standing before the minister who 
is to declare them man and wife. The Arm Chair is a 
peculiarly shaped formation, the rear and side portions of 
which have joined — stalactite to stalagmite — but the front 
part of which was arrested before the joining took place. 
Sometimes this is called the Jenny Lind chair, for here the 
great singer sat and warbled a few sweet tones, when she 
visited the Cave in the yesterday of her fame. Olive's 
Bower contains a number of these interesting growths, and 
Pompey and Caesar suggest by their rugged strength the 
physical and mental powers of the great Roman and his 
foe, while the Elephants' Heads are as massive and rough as 
though they were the actual heads severed from their bodies 
and changed into perpetual stone. 

If one were to follow his fancies he might write many 
pages upon the quaint, fantastic, strange, and often beauti- 
ful, forms assumed by these limestone conceptions. 

But of far greater beauty, though less frequently found 
in the best known portions of the Cave, are the multitude 
of gypsum forms that appear upon the walls and ceilings 
in many far-away passages. These generally assume the 
shape of flowers, either complete or in the process of forma- 
tion. As a rule they are creamy white, with occasionally a 
smoky tinge caused, doubtless, by a small amount of man- 
ganese in the chemicals held in solution when the flowing 



MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY 279 

water was forming them. Take any one of these Cave 
Flowers and examine its queer petals and it will give- you 
a good idea of all the rest. As Dr. Hovey has well written : 

Each rosette is made up of countless fibrous crystals ; each 
tiny crystal is in itself a study ; each fascicle of carved prisms 
is wonderful, and the whole glorious blossom is a miracle of 
beauty. Now multiply this mimic blossom from one to a 
myriad as you move down the dazzling vista as if in a dream 
of Elysium, not for a few yards, but for two magnificent miles. 
All is virgin white, except here and there a patch of gray lime- 
stone, or a spot bronzed by metallic stain, or as we purposely 
vary the lovely monotony by burning chemical lights we admire 
the effective grouping done by Nature's skilful fingers. Here 
is a great cross made by a mass of stone rosettes ; while floral 
coronets, clusters, wreaths, and garlands embellish nearly every 
foot of the ceiling and walls. The overgrown ornaments 
actually crowd each other till they fall on the floor and make 
the pathway sparkle with crushed and trodden jewels.* 

Perhaps, however, to most people, the ride on the river 
at the lowest level of the cave, is the great treat of all. 
During ordinary height it flows silently, serenely and calmly, 
but when the rainy and flood seasons come it rises and be- 
comes a rapid, roaring, mighty torrent. Great boats, capable 
of taking thirty or more passengers in security, are chained 
to the walls, and from an extemporized landing we take 
our places, the chain is released, and propelling us by push- 
ing with his " torch throw-stick," the guide steers us along 
through the mysterious and winding waterway. Then he 
asks for silence, and in a quiet, soft tone, sings the notes 
of the common chord for two octaves. The results are 
startling. Instead of an ordinary echo, the notes are all 

* The Mammoth Care of Kentucky, by H. C. Hovey. John P. 
Morton & Co., Louisville, Ky. 



280 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

blended together in a rich, sweet, mellow harmony that 
reverberates for several minutes. The firing of a revolver 
sounds like a thousand siege guns following one another; 
the splashing of the paddle upon the water, or striking the 
side of the boat give forth startling and long-continuing 
sounds. 

In this river, and in the pools that each rise leaves in the 
sands, are to be found the strange eyeless crawfish, and the 
blind fish which sometimes reach the size of five inches long, 
known to the scientists as Amblyopsis Speloeus, meaning 
" a weak-eyed cave dweller." There are other strange crea- 
tures such as crickets, beetles, flies, fleas, spiders, and, of 
course, thousands of bats, which latter come hither to hi- 
bernate during the winter months. 

In spite of these fascinating features of the Cave, there 
was one other phase that interested me more than the others. 
That was : How much of this vast underground world is 
yet unexplored? From conversation held with the guides 
and others, and a study of the literature of the Cave I came 
to the conclusion that here was still field for one who desired 
to gaze upon scenes that as yet the eye of man had never 
fallen upon. Consequently I arranged for the privilege of 
taking a special guide and going with him wherever he 
was willing to take me. His name was Ishmael Schuyler 
Hunt and he had had fifteen years' experience. After see- 
ing the ordinary sights we entered a level into which not one 
in a thousand of the Cave visitors are ever taken. After 
going as far as he and one of the other guides had ever 
gone, he proposed that we continue on and explore. This 
was what I desired, so we climbed down a sloping kind of 
rude shalt to a lower level, and then over, under, and 



MAMMOTH CAVE OF KENTUCKY 281 

around rocks, up and down, for a mile or so, passing places 
where literally millions of tons of floral-like gypsum de- 
posits were to be found on ceilings and walls, or fallen to 
the cave floor, there to be trampled under foot whenever 
the exploring man came along. 

After passing through a very narrow place we came to 
where the upper and lower walls were not more than three 
feet apart. To pass between these meant crawling, hardly 
on hands and knees, but on our bellies. Hunt was ahead. 
The passage opened out. We had easy walking for awhile, 
then it closed up again. Going first. Hunt proceeded care- 
fully until the merest glimmer from his lamp reached me, 
when he called and said he had reached the edge of a pit, 
the bottom of which he could not see, but that he thought he 
could "coon" around it, on a narrow shelf which extended 
as far as he could see around the left side. Telling him to 
go on carefully, I followed. When I reached the pit, he 
was safe on the other side, and I imitated the " coon " in 
hanging on by my teeth and toe-nails to the sloping and 
sand-covered shelf, with the ticklish sensation ever present 
that did anything give way I should slip, slide, fall into that 
black profound which had a very real personality on my 
right hand. Beyond this pit we came to a rather expansive 
grotto, where millions of brownish calcareous deposits of a 
peculiar marble, flower and cauliflower-like form, depended 
from the ceiling, and a striking mass of conjoined stalactites 
and stalagmites stood forth boldly as the striking feature of 
the opening. There were also many of the flower-like gyp- 
sum deposits, so, at the suggestion of the guide, I called this 
the Pasadena Floral Grotto, in honor of my home city in 
California. Some day I hope to send a tablet that will re- 



282 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

main forever as a reminder of the first recorded trip made 
to this far-away hidden spot in the bowels of the earth. 

It should be noted that while the guide was perfectly sure 
we were in unexplored territory, we had not gone far before 
we came upon the footprints of a man who had been there 
ahead of us. In this quiet and windless space, where no 
rain falls, or winds blow, nor rivers rise, such footprints 
would remain for centuries. Whose were these? No one 
knows ! Possibly of some adventurous guide long since 
dead, for Hunt assures me that no one living today has 
any knowledge of anyone ever having been into this portion 
of the Cave. 

Hence even to the explorer the Mammoth Cave has a 
message, and to the curious, the student of Nature, the 
patriotic American who desires to see and know his own 
land it calls with peculiar force and power, as one of the 
Greatest Natural Wonders of the World. 



CHAPTER XXXI 
INCOMPARABLE NIAGARA 

WHO that has seen Niagara once can ever forget it? 
What other scene of waterfall, canyon, forest, 
mountain, glacier, city, ocean, or desert can obliterate it? 
With Charles Dickens we are compelled to cry : "Niagara 
was at once stamped upon my heart, an image of beauty; 
to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses 
ceased to beat, forever." 

Is there any wonder that when Father Hennepin — the 
first white man to write a description of it — saw it in 1678 
in company with the unfortunate and adventurous LaSalle, 
he thus expressed himself : 

Here is a vast and prodigious Cadence of Water which falls 
down after a surprising and astonishing manner, insomuch 
that the Universe does not afford its Parallel. The Falls seem 
to me to be above six hundred feet high, and the Waters, which 
fall from this horrible Precipice, do foam and boyl after the 
most hideous manner imaginable, making an outrageous Noise, 
more terrible than that of Thunder, for when Wind blows out 
of the South, their dismal roaring may be heard more than 
Fifteen Leagues off.* 

And it is all very well to laugh at this exuberant descrip- 
tion and ridicule its exaggerations. Were we to come upon 
Niagara, unprepared, as did Father Hennepin, and all its 

*A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America, by Louis Henne- 
pin, 1698. 

283 



284 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

awful majesty, and vast sublimity were dashed in our faces, 
as it were, without a moment's mental preparation, I ques- 
tion whether the most careful, or most blase would be able 
to write any description more vivid, or, in the main, more 
truthful. 

It is really astonishing how the thought of Niagara has 
taken hold of the imagination of people of diverse mental 
and emotional characteristics. For instance, on one of my 
returns to my native town in England, one gentleman, a 
grocer by trade, fairly hurled the question at me the moment 
I saw him: "Have you seen Nye-a-hag-a-ra ? " for that 
was the way he pronounced it. And when I replied in the 
affirmative, he cared to hear nothing of where I had been, or 
what else I had seen until I had filled him full, and satisfied 
all his questionings about the great cataract. I mention this 
merely as one of a score of similar experiences. 

Tyndall, the calm, serene scientist, was a devoted admirer 
of Niagara. He said : " Fine and close acquaintanceship, 
the gradual interweaving of mind and nature, must power- 
fully influence any final estimate of the scene." And this is 
true. One's first impressions of Niagara are absorbing for 
the time being, but they grow and change materially as one 
gains closer acquaintance with it. Nor can one get in one 
view a full conception of what Niagara is. I have visited 
it again and again, in the course of thirty years, yet, as I 
wander around from place to place, I get new views, new 
effects, new impressions at every visit. 

The first point from which the visitor generally sees 
Niagara on the American side is Prospect Point. Here at 
an elevation slightly above the Falls one's view to the left 
is of the river, rushing madly towards the verge of the 




THE AMERICAN FALL 




THE HORSESHOE FALL 

ON THE CANADIAN SIDE 



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INCOMPARABLE NIAGARA 285 

precipice, where it makes its wonderful leap, roaring and 
thunder-voiced into the abyss beneath. From Prospect Park 
one may descend by the Inclined Railway to the foot of the 
Falls, where most startling and amazing effects are to be 
witnessed. One will need an umbrella and waterproof coat. 
It is from Goat Island, however, that the real conception 
of Niagara is obtained. In walking over the bridges, and 
in glimpses through the rich growth of trees that crowns 
the island, one realizes, as nowhere else, the marvelous rush 
of the upper rapids. By many these are regarded as the 
supreme object of attention. The Duke of Argyle wrote of 
them : 

When we stand at any point near the edge of the Falls, and 
look up the course of the stream, the foaming waters of the 
rapids constitute the sky line. No indication of land is visible 
— nothing to express the fact that we are looking at a river. 
The crests of the breakers, the leaping and the rushing of the 
waters, are seen against the clouds as they are seen in the 
ocean, when the ship from which we look is in the trough of 
the sea. It is impossible to resist the effect of the imagination. 
It is as if the fountains of the great deep were being broken 
up, and that a new deluge were coming on the world. The 
impression is rather increased than diminished by the perspec- 
tive of the low wooded banks on either shore, running down to 
a vanishing point and seeming to be lost in the advancing 
waters. An apparently shoreless sea tumbling toward one is a 
very grand and a very awful sight. Forgetting, then, what one 
knows, and giving oneself to what one only sees, I do not know 
that there is anything in Nature more majestic than the view 
of the rapids above the falls of Niagara.* 

All agree that the surpassing views of the Falls are to 
be had from the Canadian side. It was on Table Rock, 

* Geology and Paleontology of Niagara Falls and p^icinity, by A. W. 
Grabau. N. Y. State Educat. Dept., Albany, 1901. 



286 OVR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

near the edge of Horse Shoe Falls, that Dickens got his im- 
pressions. Again, to quote him : 

It was not until I came upon Table Rock, and looked — 
great heaven, on what a fall of bright-green water! — that it 
came upon me in its full might and majesty. Then, when I 
felt how near to my Creator I was standing, the first effect, and 
the enduring one — instant and lasting — of the tremendous 
spectacle, was peace. Peace of mind, tranquility, calm recol- 
lections of the dead, great thoughts of eternal rest and happi- 
ness: nothing of gloom or terror. . . . 

Oh, how the strife and trouble of daily life receded from 
my view, and lessened in the distance, during the ten memor- 
able days we passed on that enchanted ground ! What voices 
spoke from out the thundering water ; what faces, faded from 
the earth, looked out upon me from its gleaming depths ; what 
heavenly promise glistened in those angel's tears, the drops of 
many hues, that showered around, and twined themselves about 
the gorgeous arches which the changing rainbows made.* 

Contrary to his general custom Dickens, in the above 
quotation, fails to explain why that blessed sense of peace 
possessed him as he gazed upon the overflowing w^ater. John 
Muir, it seems to me, fully answers, or explains, this in one 
of his keenly analytical comments on the Fall of Tueeulala, 
in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. He says : 

Lowlanders are apt to suppose that mountain streams in their 
wild career over cliffs lose control of themselves and tumble 
in a noisy chaos of mist and spray. On the contrary, on no 
part of their travels are they more harmonious and self- 
controlled.f 

That this is true I have observed again and again, and 
have called the attention of thoughtful travelers to the fact, 

* American Notes. 

t The Yosemite, by John ]\Iuir, pp. 250-1, The Century Co., New 
York. 



INCOMPARABLE NIAGARA 287 

yet few, if any, had ever noticed it before. The personality 
of falls is as wonderfully varied as is that of individuals, and 
there are types, too, of falls, as there are of faces and char- 
acters. For instance, the water falling over the Niagara 
cliffs, in the smooth volume it possesses, is an entirely dif- 
ferent-appearing element from the water that makes Bridal 
Veil Falls, or Mooney Falls, described in another chapter, 
or of any of the falls in the Yosemite or Yellowstone. This 
is too large a subject to discuss here, but it will prove in- 
teresting to the intelligent observer to be on the lookout, in 
future, to see if the statement be not an accurate one. 

Table Rock has changed, somewhat, since Dickens' day. 
In 1850 a huge portion of it fell off into the gorge, but 
enough is still left to give one incomparable and awe-inspir- 
ing views, though he is liable to be drenched with spray 
at any turn of the wind. 

One of the effects that most people notice is the vivid 
green of the water of these Falls. Tyndall thus comments 
upon it : 

While the water of the falls as a whole bends solidly over 
and falls in a continuous layer . . . close to the ledge over 
which the water rolls, foam is generated, the light falling upon 
which, and flashing back from it, is sifted in its passage to and 
fro, and changed from white to emerald green.* 

There are two things every Niagara visitor should not 
fail to do. These are to take the ride on The Maid of the 
Mist to the foot of the Falls, and then take the Belt Line 
ride down the river to see Whirlpool Rapids. This latter 
ride may be taken beginning at either the Canadian or Amer- 
ican side, and affords one reasonably good views of all the 

* Fragments of Science, by John Tyndall. D. Appleton & Co., 2 vols. 



288 OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS 

most interesting spots. Yet, if one would really study the 
Falls, the rapids, and their geological surroundings, he must 
leisurely walk rather than ride. 

The Maid of the Mist ride is perfectly safe, having been 
enjoyed by many thousands of people without accident. 
The little steamer rides, tossing like a cork, almost to the 
foot of the Falls, and thus brings one near to the vast sheets 
of marvelously friction-embroidered tapestry of the falling 
water, made iridescent in the sun's rays. Especially in 
winter time are some wonderfully fine effects observable. 

On the Belt ride, after passing Clifton, on the Canadian 
side, one begins to have fine views of the Whirlpool Rapids, 
and can realize something of their wild and threatening 
character. In 1861, with three men on board, the Maid of 
the Mist successfully navigated these rapids and the Whirl- 
pool below, in the presence of a vast thro\ig of highly in- 
terested spectators. But the feat was never again attempted. 
And it was through this same stretch of demoniac water 
that Captain Webb, the hardy and daring swimmer, at- 
tempted to swim, paying for the foolhardy venture with his 
life. The Whirlpool is at the end of the Rapids, and our 
views are many and varied, until the Whirlpool Station of 
the electric road is reached. Here, from a little shelter built 
on an extreme point, one obtains excellent views of the 
gorge, including the Whirlpool, and the Rapids above and 
below. This great swollen elbow is certainly the most thrill- 
ing portion of the entire gorge. The whole body of the 
river rushes into the pool from the southeast with great 
velocity. Held within narrow confining walls, which have 
been rendered circular by the water's own cutting power, the 
current becomes fierce through restraint. Leaping and 



INCOMPARABLE NIAGARA 289 

tearing at the circular wall, it madly rages and yet rushes 
on, impelled and propelled by the inrushiiig force of the 
ever oncoming river. It circles completely around, finally 
escaping by passing under the incoming torrent, through the 
comparatively narrow outlet, in a northeasterly direction. 
It is estimated that the water here is not less than 150 to 
200 feet deep, but both the outlet and inlet are shallow, and 
are formed of a very hard quartzose bed of what is known 
as the ]\Iedina formation, ^^'hether one is interested in 
geology or not he should not fail to notice the succession 
of the rock strata finely exposed here on the New York side 
of the river. 

A little below the Whirlpool, Niagara Glen is reached. 
Few visit it, yet I have found it one of the most attractive 
spots along the gorge. To quote A. W. Grabau again : 

It marks the site of a former fall, and, besides its interest on 
that account deserves to be visited for its sylvan beauty and its 
wild and picturesque scenery of frowning cliffs, huge moss- 
covered boulders and dark cool dells, where rare flowers and 
ferns are among the attractions which delight the naturalist. 
Many good views of the river and the opposite banks may here 
be obtained, and the student of geology will find no end to in- 
structive features eloquent of the time when the falling waters 
wciC dashed into spray on the boulders among which he now 
wanders.* 

There are also excellent views at Queenston Heights and 
very comprehensive ones from the summit of Brock's 
Monument. 

On the return journey, on the New York side, the cars 
run close to the rushing waters of the river, thus making the 
trip of unusual interest. The history of the various places 
* Geology and Paleontology of Niagara Falls and Vicinity. 



290 OUR AMERICAN fVONDERLANDS 

at which the regular stops are made is full of interest, as, 
for instance, at the Bloody Run Ravine, where, in 1763, the 
Seneca Indians drove a band of English soldiers, with their 
wagons and horses, over the cliff, and they were dashed to 
pieces upon the rocks below. 

But by far the most attractive place at which to stop is the 
Whirlpool Rapids. The water which here rushes through a 
narrow and comparatively shallow channel, makes a descent of 
nearly fifty feet in the space of less than a mile, and its turbu- 
lence and magnificence are indescribable. Seen at night by 
moonlight, or when illuminated by the light from a strong re- 
flector, the spectacle is beyond portrayal.* 

To the visitor, whether he be widely traveled or not, 
Niagara makes a definite, direct, and distinctive appeal. No 
one can be disappointed in it, if he merely stops long enough 
and takes the trouble to see it from every reasonable view- 
point, while to the student of geology it affords problems 
of extreme interest to the borders of fascination, upon which 
some of the greatest scientists of this and past ages have 
expended their mental energy. 

* Geology and Paleontology of Niagara Falls and Vicinity. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Acoma, 24, 95, 199; by the En- 
chanted Mesa to, 101-114 

Acowitz Canyon, cliff dweUings, 61 

Adventures in Zuiii, My, 141 

Agua Fria Crater, 138 

Alamo, 200 

American Archeology, School of, 
21, 71 

American Highways and Byzvays 
of the Rocky Mountains, 190 

Apache trail to Roosevelt Dam, 
over the, 150-157 

Argyle, Duke of, and Niagara, 285 

Arizona, deserts, lure of the, 172- 
181 ; Franciscan missions of, 
New Mexico, and Texas, 196- 
202; Grand Canyon of, i-io 

Arizona Sketches, 147 

Augusta Bridge, Utah, 185 

Bandelier, Adolf, and the Delight 

Makers, 25, 67 
Beadle, J. H., and Canyon de Chel- 

ly, 85, 86 
Beaver Creek, Verde region ruins, 

31 
Beaver Falls. Havasu, 165 
Betatakin, 20, 38; to, and Kitsiel, 

38-59 
Big Basin, California Redwood 

Park, 243 
Big trees of California, 241-248 
Blackfoot Glacier, 218 
Blue-water, or Cataract Canyon, 

36 
Bridal Veil Falls, Cataract Can- 
yon, 164 
Bridge, Natural, of Virginia, 265- 

271 
Bridges, Colossal, of Utah, 182- 

189 
Brown, Samuel, and Mammoth 

Cave, 273 

Calaveras grove of big trees, 242, 
246, 247 



California State Redwood Park, 

243. 245 
California the Wonderful, 236, 247 
Canyon, Grand of Arizona, i-io 
Canyon de Chelly, del Muerto, and 

Monument, and their ruins, 76- 

86 
Canyon Diablo, 145 
Canyon of Cataracts, and the Ha- 

vasupai Indians, 158-166 
Carleton, General, explores Can- 
yon de Chelly, 83, 91 
Caroline Bridge, Utah, 184 
Casa Grande, cliff-dwellings, 25-27 
Cascade Range, 227 
Cataract Canyon, 2^, 158 
Cave, Mammoth, of Kentucky, 

272, 282 
Chaco Canyon, cliff-dwellings, 21 
Chalcedony Park, Petrified For- 
est, 168 
Channel Islands of California, 259- 

264 
Chapin, F. H., and the cliff-dwell- 
ings, 61-63 
Chelly, Canyon de, 20, 22, 41, 76-86 
Chittenden, General H. M., and 

the Yellowstone, 205 
"Cibola, Seven Cities of" (Zuni), 

over the Lava Fields to the, 136- 

144 
"City of the Sky" (Acoma), loi- 

114 
Cliff- and Cave-Dwellings of the 

Southwest, the Prehistoric, 20- 

37 
Cliff-Dwellers country, boundaries 

of, 20 
Cliff-Dzvellers, The Land of the, 

61, 63 
Cliff-Dwellings of the Mesa Verde, 

60-66 
Cliff-Dwellings of the Mesa Verde, 

The, 62 
Cliff Palace, 61, 62 



293 



294 



INDEX 



Colorado, ruins of the Little, 20, 

36 
Colorado Springs, 190 
Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah, 

182-189 
Concepcion, la, Purissima de Acu- 

na, mission, 201 
Conquistadores, 74, 104, 136, I97 
Continental divide, 205 
Corn dance, 99 
Cowlitz Glacier, 224 
Crater Lake, Oregon, 227-233 
Crayon, Porte, and the great Nat- 
ural Bridge, 3, 266-270 
Crookes, William, and Meteorite 

Mountain, 148 
Crucifixion of Penitentes, 12 
Cummings, Byron, and the Utah 

Natural Bridges, 38, 182, 185 
Cushing, F. H., and Zuni, 25, 141, 

158 

Delight Makers, The, 67 
Delight Makers. Old Santa Fe, and 

the land of the, 67-75 
Dellenbaugh, F. S., and the Grand 

Canyon, 9 
Delmas, D. M., and the big trees, 

244 
Del Rluerto Canyon, 76-86 
Desert, the lure of the Arizona, 

172-181 ; color, vastness, and 

calm, 172-176 
Diablo Canyon, 145 
Dickens. Charles, and Niagara, 

28.3. 286 
Doniphan's Expedition, 43, 77, 90 
Dutton, Clarence E., and the 

Grand Canyon, 6 

Echo River, Mammoth Cave, 273 
El Capitan, Yosemite, 2, 236. 237 
Ellen Wilson Lake, Glacier Park, 

219 
El Tovar, Grand Canyon. 7. 8, 166 
Enchanted Mesa, by the, to the 

"City of the Sky," 101-114 

Fewkes, J. W., and the cliff-dwell- 
ings, 25, 27, 29, 36, 38; and the 
Hopi snake dance, 124-126 
Fiesta de los Muertos, la, 97 
Fire Dance of the Navahos, 87-94 
Firehole Geyser Basin, 204 



Fishing at Santa Catalina Island, 

262 
Flagellantes, Old Taos and the, 

11-19 
Flagstaff, ruins near. 20, 35 
Flute of the Gods, The, 100 
Fossil Forests of Arizona, 167-171 
Franciscan Missions, old, of New 

Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, 

196-202 
Fremont group of big trees, 242 
Fresno grove of big trees, 242 

Garden of the Gods, and Monu- 
ment Park, 190-195 

Garland, Hamlin, and the Hopi 
snake dance, 129-135 

Geyser Basin, ^204 

Geysers of the Yellowstone, 205- 
210 

Gila Valley cliff-dwelHngs, 20, 25 

Gilbert, G. K., and Meteorite 
Mountain, 147 

Glacier National Park, 214-220 

Glaciers of the National Park, 
223 

Grabau, A. W., and Niagara Falls, 
285, 289, 290 

Grand Canyon of Arizona, i-io, 

159 

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 
2, 205-213 

Grand County, Utah, and the Nat- 
ural Bridges, 188 

Havasupai Indians, Canyon of Cat- 
aracts and the, 158-166 
Hayden's Geological Survey, 60, 

204 
Hodge, F. W., and the Enchanted 

Mesa, 25, 104 
Holder, C. F, and the Channel 

Islands. 259 
Hopi Cliff Ruins, 20, 25, 36 
Hopiland, 24, 25, 76, 95 
Hopi Snake Dance, 115-13S 
Hornaday, W. T., and glaciers of 

National Park, 218, 219 
Hovey, H. C, and gypsum flowers 

of Mammoth Cave, 279 
Hughes, J. T., and Canyon de 

Chelly, 43, 77 
Indians of the Painted Desert 

Region, The, 123 



INDEX 



295 



Indians of the Terraced Houses, 

19, 100 
Inscription Rock, 140 
"Island of Summer, The," Cata- 

lina Island, 259 
Isleta, New Mexico, 95, 96 

Jackson, Mt, Glacier National 

Park, 214 
Jenney, C. E., and the big trees, 

241 
Johnson, Clifton, and the Garden 

of the Gods, 190 

Kachina Bridge, Utah, 184 

Katzimo, the Enchanted Mesa, 
102 

Kayenta, in Hopiland, 39-45 

Kearny, General S. W., and Nava- 
jo land, 14, 22, y7, 89 

Kentucky, INIammoth Cave of, 272- 
282 

Khiva, A Ride to, 38 

Kitsiel, clifT-dwellings, 20, 38-59 

Laguna, important pueblo, 98, loi, 
136 

Lake, McDermott, 214; Ellen Wil- 
son, 219; Gunsight, 210; Mc- 
Donald, 216; Mirror, 238; Ta- 
hoe, 249-258; Two Medicine, 217 

Land of the Cliff -Dwellers, The, 
61 

Land of Poco Tiempo, The, 12, 
100, 157 

Land of the Standing Rocks, The, 
190 

Land of Sunshine, 34 

Langford, N. P., and Yellowstone 
geysers, 209, 210 

La Plata Range, 50 

Lava Fields, over the, to the 
"Seven Cities of Cibola," 136- 
144 

Le Conte, John, and Lake Tahoe, 
258 

Le Conte, Joseph, and Crater 
Lake, 228 

Libbey, W., and Katzimo, 103 

Lithodendron Valley, Petrified 
Forest, 168 

Little Bridge, Utah, 185 

Little Colorado River ruins, 20, ;i6 

Long, Horace J., and the Natural 
Bridges of Utah, 183, 184 



Lummis, C. F., and the Penitentes, 
12 ; and the Enchanted Mesa, 
102, 104; and the Apache War, 

157 
Lure of the Arizona Deserts, 172-. 
181 

IMammoth Cave of Kentucky, 272- 
282 

Mancos, Mancos Canyon, and cliff- 
dwellings, 41, 61 

Mariposa grove of big trees, 238, 
242 

Markham, Edwin, and the Yosem- 
ite, 236, 237; and the big trees, 
247 

Matthews, Washington, and the 
Navajos, 25, 137 

McCully, A. W., and Rainier Na- 
tional Park, 224-226 

McDermott Lak^, 214 

McElmo, cliff-dwellings, 41 

Merced grove of big trees, 246 

Mesa Verde, Cliff-dwelhngs, of 
the, 21, 41, 60-66 

Meteorite Mountain and Sunset 
Crater, 145-149 

Miller, Joaquin, and the desert, 
177 

Mindeleffs, the, and Indian re- 
mains, 25, 26, 29, 83 

Montezuma Castle, Well, and 
Creek, cliff-dwellings, 31, 41 

Monument Canyon and its ruins, 
76-86 

Monument Park, The Garden of 
the Gods and, 190-195 

Mossbrse Falls, Sacramento River, 
162 

Mountain Chant of the Navajos, 
92 

Mountain that zcas God, The, 226 

Muertos, la Fiesta de Los, 97 

Muir, John, and the Grand Can- 
yon, I ; and the Petrified For- 
est, 168; and the Yosemite Val- 
ley, 234; Muir Woods of big 
trees, 245 

Munk, J. A., and Meteorite Moun- 
tain, 146 

Natural Bridge of Virginia, 3, 265- 

271 
Natural Bridges of Utah, 41, 182- 

189 



296 



INDEX 



Navajo, legend, 137; Mountain, 
186; National Monument, 20, 
38 

Navajos, 22, 25, 28, 40, 53, 76, 83, 
87; and their remarkable fire 
dance, 87-94 

New Mexico, old Franciscan mis- 
sions of, 196-202 

Niagara, 283-290 

Nisqually Glacier, 221-223 ; River, 
222 

Nonnezoshie Bridge, Utah, 186 

Nordenskiold, Gustav, and the 
Cliff-Palace, 62 

Old Franciscan Missions of New 
Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, 
196-202 

Old Taos and the Flagellantes, 11- 

19 
Oskison, J. W., and cliff-dwellitigs, 

38, 46 
Owachomo Bridge, 185 

Painted Desert, over the, to the 
Hopi snake dance, 115-135 

Pajarito Plateau, cliff-dwellings, 
and Delight Makers, 20. 67 

Paradise Valley. Rainier National 
Park, 224 

Pattie, J. O., and Santa Fe region, 
22 

Penitente Brothers, 12-19 

Petrified Forest of Arizona, 167- 
171 

Pike's Peak, 190 

Pikyabo Bridge, Utah, 189 

Porte Crayon, and Natural Bridge 
of Virginia, 3, 266-270 

Powell, J. W., and the Grand Can- 
yon, 7; and the cliff-dwellings, 
23. 25 

Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, 11, 74, 
112, 199 

Pueblos, 23, 24 

Rain ceremony and the snake 
dance, 135 

Rainier National Park, 214, 221- 
226 

Red Rock country ruins. 20 

Rio Grande, pueblos, 23 ; terraced 
houses of the. 95-100 

Rito de los Frijoles, cliff-dwell- 
ings, 69-71 



Roof of the continent, on the, 

Montana, 214-220 
Roosevelt Dam, 150-157 
Ryan, Marah Ellis, and Indians 

and their pueblos, 100 

Salt River cliff-dwellings, 20, 25, 

San Antonio de Bexar, mission, 
301 ; de Valero, old mission, 200 ; 
Fernando, 201 ; Fernando de 
Taos, 11; Francisco de la Es- 
pada, 201; Gabriel, 199; Ilde- 
fonso, 74, 100; Jacinto. 200; de 
Tumacacori, 202; Juan, 100; 
Xavier del Bac, 201 

San Estaban's day at Acoma, 109 

San Francisco Mountains, cliff- 
dwellings. 20, 35 

San Juan River, cliff-dwellings, 21 

San Mateo Mountain, lava flow 
and legend, 137, 138 

Santa Catalina Island. 260 

Santa Fe, 21, 73, 199 

Saunders, C. F., and the Rio 
Grande, 19 

Sempervirens, big trees, 241-248 

Sequoias, big trees. 241-248 

"Seven Cities of Cibola," 136-144 

Shipapu Bridge, Utah, 185 

Sia, The, 100 

Simpson, J. H., and Canyon de 
Chelly, 78-83 ; Report of an Ex- 
pedition into the Navaho Coun- 
try, 78-83 

Smith, Katharine Louise, and Two 
Medicine Lake, 217 

Snake ceremonies at Walpi, 115- 

135 
Sperry Glacier, 218 
St. Michaels, mission, 41 
Sunset Peak, crater, 149 

Tahoe, Lake, 249-258 

Tahoma, "the mountain that was 
God," 221 

Taos. II, 69, 95; and the Flagel- 
lantes, 11-19 

Terraced houses of the Rio 
Grande. 95-100 

Texas, old Franciscan missions of, 
196-202 

Thompson, David, and the Yellow- 
stone, 203 



INDEX 



297 



Topocobya trail, Cataract Canyon, 

Trees, the big, of California, 241- 

248 
Truckee River, Lake Tahoe, 251 
Tsotsil, Mt, sacred to Navahos, 

Tumacacori, San Jose de, mission, 

202 
Tuna Club, 262 

Tuolumne grove of big trees, 246 
Tusayan, Hopiland, 20, 24, 25 
Twain, Mark, and Lake Tahoe, 

256 
Two Medicine Lake, 217 
Tyndall, John, and Niagara, 287 
Tyuonyi, clifif-dwelling, 69 

Undeveloped West, The, or Five 
Years in the Territories, 86 

Utah, Colossal Bridges of, 182- 
189 

Utah, the Great Natural Bridges 
of. 189 



Verde, Camp, cliff-dwellings, 29, 
31 ; River, and Valley ruins, 20, 
^28-37 

Verde, Mesa, the Cliff-Dzvellings 
of the, 60-66 

Virginia, Natural Bridge of, 265- 
271 

Wallapai trail into Cataract Can-. 

yon, 159 
Washington, Mt., 227 
Water Tank Bridge, Utah, 189 
Wetherills and Colville, 38, 39, 41, 

52, 61 
Whirlpool Rapids, Niagara, 287, 

288 

Yellowstone Grand Canyon, 2 
Yellowstone Park, 203-213 
Yosemite Valley, 2, 234-240 

Zuni, 21, 25, 36, 95, 136-144, 158, 
199; trail to Cataract Canyon, 
159 




• CAVE. 



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